By Jasmine Moore
University police say they prepare months in advance for homecoming, ensuring visitors, families, and students have a safe and memorable weekend.
The Greatest Homecoming on Earth will be conducted this week with heightened concerns over safety, according to top university officials.
Safety concerns started to rise at the beginning of the academic year with the two shootings within 24 hours in August. Then, during homecoming season, gunfire at Bowie and Morgan State put a halt to some weekend activities on those campuses.
At N.C. A&T, University Police Chief Jermaine Cherry has been proactively managing safety and security. He has been hosting more organized events for student engagement.
The “Humans First Cookout” was on Sept. 20, “Coffee with a Cop” on Sept. 25, and “Behind the Badge, Before the Letters” on Oct. 3. These events allowed students to learn more about safety tips and address any issues they may have with University Police.
Cherry is working to ensure that homecoming this year will be the best one yet, working for several months with both internal and external departments, such as the city of Greensboro and the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office.
“Homecoming preparation began in late July of this year,” Cherry said. “These planning sessions have been rather extensive and ongoing, and we continue to plan for the big day, for the big week of homecoming.”
Homecoming brings about 60,000 people to campus and in the Greensboro area. In recent years, gun violence has erupted, primarily at off-campus sites.
Re’Onna Vines, a junior journalism and mass communication student from Atlanta, understands safety needs from her previous homecoming experiences.
“Since I was a freshman, I witnessed people lose their lives during homecoming,” Vines said. “It is, without a doubt, that we have the greatest homecoming on earth, but there’s also no secret that this is a peak time for gun violence.”
Cherry hopes the students and the community will understand the safety efforts, some of which mean restrictions to campus access.
“There are individuals who come into our community and they don’t have good intentions,” Cherry said. “Some people come to spite our liberty. They try to figure out how they can take advantage of…loopholes in our security plans. That’s where you and I, as well as the community, we can shore up safety, work together and make sure everything is safe.”
Cherry hopes the new measures will help thwart some of the issues from the past. They include:
- The campus opening early each day of homecoming, but will closing to the public after 8 p.m. for only student entry.
- Security measures including new cameras and an upgraded license plate reader.
- The app “SafeZone,” which gives students one place to seek help in an emergency and find information if there is an incident.
Cherry said campus police also have been granted patrols and extra resources with every first responder department—Greensboro Police Department, Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, and the Greensboro Fire Department—to work on tackling every problem area from previous homecomings.
“Our challenge, however, continues to be what happens in the immediate area of campus, off-campus,” Cherry said. “Part of my focus has been to pay close attention to all of the apartment complexes, all the areas that surround the university, so I partnered with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office, and what they are doing for us is they will take on the challenge of securing all of the apartment complexes around N.C. A&T during the entire week of homecoming.”
Safety concerns have escalated within HBCUs after shootings happened at three schools. The first occurred at Tuskegee University, where shots were fired at a student housing complex.
At Morgan State University, a shooting happened shortly after the coronation of Mister and Miss Morgan State during their homecoming week. Five people were injured.
Several days later, two students were victims of gunfire at Bowie State during homecoming.
In Greensboro, after the gunfire at A&T in August, Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. addressed concerns of students and parents via a statement distributed to local media and via email.
“Gun violence among young adults is not only on the rise around our nation, our state, and our city, it seems to be at or near an all-time high,” Martin said. “We cannot and will not allow our students and our campus to become casualties in this senseless phenomenon.”
The email included new security measures, including:
● Using a new drone security system to enhance investigations of any disturbances on campus.
● Enhancing the number of law enforcement and security on campus, patrolling grounds and buildings, and being accessible to students at all times.
● Creating a new personal safety app called SafeZone free of charge in app stores for any deviceOther restrictions include:
● Restriction of motor vehicle access to the Student Center beginning by 9 p.m. nightly enforced by UPD.
● An approved policy on trespassing that gives the university greater authority in removing unwanted individuals from our campus.
● Enhancing the level of security personnel active on the off-campus managed apartment complexes.
University Police have worked on improving student safety measures this year, but students are encouraged to make wise decisions, especially first-year students new to Homecoming festivities.
In case of emergencies, students should call University Police at the
24-hour emergency line, 336-334-7675, or contact authorities with the new SafeZone app.
Jasmine Moore is a North Carolina A&T junior multimedia journalism student
from Raleigh, North Carolina.
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