Morgan View residents are outraged by new security policies that the staff introduced after the fatal stabbing of Gerald Williams earlier this month.
According to a Morgan View newsletter, the security enhancements included a new guard booth, additional security officers, K-9 patrols, safety and conflict resolution initiatives and an upgraded surveillance system.
Residents are now required to provide their Morgan State University bear card or state ID to gain access to the property. Residents are only allowed two guests at a time and visitors are not permitted to enter the property through the gate located in the back of the complex.
A number of residents voiced their issues with the policies at a mandatory building meeting. “It just seems like they’re implementing things that they should’ve implemented a long time ago,” said Jewell Cook, senior accounting major.
“Morgan View isn’t consistent enough for it [policies] to really help, and it won’t last long. They didn’t think it all the way through; there’s so many questions that they couldn’t even answer,” said Sabrina Cloud, senior business major.
Residents questioned the effectiveness of the current security guards after president David Wilson announced security changes in another newsletter. Wilson said that there will be a guard stationed at the front gate “effective immediately,” and security patrolling the complex 24/7 beginning Feb. 15.
“It’s not how many; it’s if they’re really doing what they’re supposed to do, ‘cause you can hire as many [guards] as you want but if they’re not doing their job, then it’s still not going to solve any problems,” said Nesha Jackson, a junior medical technology major. “If the security guards did their jobs, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
“I don’t feel like the security guards are qualified,” said Cloud. “At a previous building meeting a security guard said, ‘I don’t get paid enough for that’.”
While most students opposed the new policies, there were some that felt differently about them. “I feel as though they had to make changes just based on what happened,” Kahson Bounds, a senior physical education major, explained.
Some of Morgan View’s new policies went into effect on Feb. 15. The Spokesman will stay up-to-date on Morgan View throughout the semester.
