In light of an incident where a student brought a loaded gun into a University of Memphis classroom last semester and the recent outbreak of violence in a Kroger parking lot near campus, the Student Government Association is developing a smart phone app to help solve the problem.
It was an ordinary day for Megan Cook as she sat down in her desk for a biology tutoring session last semester. That was until her professor called a student to the board to work out a problem and Cook noticed something out of the ordinary.
“(The student) was called up to the board, and we saw something silver hanging out of his pocket,” Cook, a junior journalism major, said. “He kept grabbing towards his pocket, and that’s what made me notice — it was a gun.”
According to Cook, it was almost instantaneous how aware the entire class became that the student was in possession of a weapon.
“We were trying to pay attention but also watching his side of the room,” Cook said. “It was pretty much impossible to concentrate.”
Cook said that campus police soon arrived during the class period, pulled the armed individual out of the room and found two to three magazines of ammunition inside of his backpack.
During the next class, Director of Public Safety at the University of Memphis Bruce Harber addressed the class and explained what further action was taken.
“He told us that a TigerText did not get sent out because no one was in danger,” Cook said. “But that since the man had a weapon on campus, which is a felony, he was banned from the campus.”
According to Harber, the individual was apprehended within minutes. Once his weapon was confiscated and he was placed in custody, he was no longer a threat to the University. Harber said there are two types of emergency alerts – emergency notifications and timely warnings. Since the individual was already in custody, there was no further information that needed to be sent to faculty and students.
“There is a lot of confusion about timely warnings,” Harber said. “A TigerText is not a news feed. [It] is used to inform people to protect themselves. We already had him, the weapon and the ammunition.”
President of the Student Government Association Ricky Kirby found out about the incident through a text message sent to him by a friend, who was in the class. According to Kirby, it motivated him to work alongside SGA to find a way to better protect those on campus.
After brainstorming, Kirby, with the assistance of SGA, decided that the best way to assist in keeping the campus safe would be through creating a smart phone app that would allow students to instantly contact campus police if they find themselves in danger.
“We basically want to have a mobile blue light system that works with GPS technology and recording technology to access police with a touch of a button,” Kirby said.
Kirby said that they are looking into making it an addition to the U of M app, seeing if it can work in conjunction with TigerText, or just using an app that already has similar features.
“We’re looking into different response systems that would work in conjunction with an app,” Kirby said. “The biggest problem is finding a way to get systems to communicate with each other and the cost. We don’t want students to pay for it.”
Kirby and SGA aren’t the only ones working to secure student safety on campus. In light of recent violence surrounding the University and greater Memphis area, Kyle Rose, a sophomore pre-nursing major, created a Twitter account titled “U of M Lookout.” The account will exist as a platform for students and citizens to tweet information regarding suspicious activity.
According to Rose, he was “creeped out” by the crime and wanted to find a way to help keep people safe. He chose Twitter because of the convenience.
“People are always tweeting or on Twitter scrolling through their news feed, so I thought Twitter was the best option,” Rose said.
Rose wants people to know the page is not a joke.
“I’m really serious about it being used to help people,” he said. “If [the account] just helps one person, it’s better than nothing.”
Junior exercise and sports science major Karlee Frazier thinks the Twitter account has potential.
“We already have TigerText, but using Twitter will definitely help because students will see it faster,” she said.
Rose doesn’t see his Twitter account as competition with other apps, but a way to reinforce not only campus safety – but safety in Memphis.
“If something serious is happening I’ll definitely call the police. I want to be as helpful as possible, not compete with other [initiatives] on campus,” Rose said. “TigerTexts are great — I want to supplement them not compete.”
In 2013, 19 states introduced legislation to allow concealed firearms to be carried on campus. Of the 19 states, only two bills passed. One in Kansas now allows concealed carry while an Arkansas’ bill allows faculty to carry, unless the governing board decides against it. However, with campus shootings occurring across the country, some legislators have attempted to strengthen firearm regulations. While five states introduced legislation to prohibit concealed weapons being carried on college campuses, none of the bills passed. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Tennessee currently bans carrying a concealed weapon on college campuses.
