State colleges face safety questions after two shootings

Editorials

March 28, 2012

State colleges face safety questions after two shootings

By The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Miss Associated Press Wed Mar 28, 2012, 10:20 AM CDT

JACKSON — Students on two Mississippi public university campuses are mourning the deaths of fellow students — both victims in unrelated shootings.

According to police:

— A fight at an off-campus pool party may have led to the shooting death of a Jackson State University freshman on March 25.

Nolan Ryan Henderson, 19, of Atlanta was killed at the Palisades apartments at 1400 Valley St., which is within walking distance of the JSU campus.

— John D. Sanderson, 21, of Madison, was shot multiple times March 24 outside a dorm room on the first floor of Evans Hall on the Mississippi State University campus.

We like to think of our universities as peaceful oases that exist removed from the world at large.

As the shootings bring home: That’s not an accurate reflection of reality.

But are Mississippi’s public universities safe?

University authorities maintain both campuses are safe.

While JSU is an urban campus with all that entails, violent incidents on campus are relatively rare, and Henderson’s death occurred off campus.

The 2010 campus shooting of Andrea Scott, a JSU researcher, shocked the campus and renewed attention to safety. University officials say about $1 million has been spent on security upgrades in recent years.

Mississippi State is located in the much smaller city of Starkville. While that city has its own crime issues, as does any city, the campus is known as a pastoral site.

“This is the first time in our school’s history ... a student being shot on campus,” MSU president Mark Keenum said.

Nonetheless, tragedies occur. Whether it’s an altercation that gets out of hand, or a dormitory fire, or a case of drunken behavior that results in an accident, students are at risk.

Mississippi authorities try to minimize risk, for example, the drug and alcohol crackdown by University of Mississippi officials in 2006 after a campus police officer was killed in a traffic incident.

But no one — student, teacher, visitor — can live in a vacuum.

Real life intrudes no matter where we live.

Online:

http://www.clarionledger.com

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