Morgan State leads national conference to address gun violence on college campuses
Morgan State University led a two-day national conference at the downtown Baltimore Marriott where campus leaders discussed ways to protect students and staff from gun violence.
Morgan State's Center on Urban Violence and Crime Reduction, as well as its School of Social Work, collaborated with other colleges at the inaugural National Conference for Gun Violence on U.S. College and University Campuses to address policies and safety in higher education.
Between 2013 and 2023, there were over 300 instances of gunfire on college campuses, including Morgan State, which saw three straight years of shootings on campus during homecoming, according to The Center on Urban Violence and Crime Reduction.
"We help each other and we share information and we support each other, so we have chiefs of police from across the country at this event," said Morgan State Police Chief Lance Hatcher.
The Center on Urban Violence and Crime Reduction says that since 1966, there have been 13 mass shootings at U.S. colleges, leading to at least 102 deaths.
The gathering on Wednesday included university leaders and police chiefs to share best practices in keeping campuses and students safe through panels, presentations, and policy.
"With social workers, policy planning people, with legislative initiatives, and actions, so we're bringing all those folks together to kind of tackle this national epidemic of gun violence," Hatcher said.
A focus on public safety
Dr. Anna McPhatter, the dean of Morgan State's School of Social Work, said the goal of the conference is for college leaders to brainstorm on policies that will keep their communities safer.
"And expanding their dynamics of the understanding and all the other things that are associated with it, like public safety, mental health, and how students feel about the experience," McPhatter said.
The conference also efforts to understand the root causes of violence that may happen before they step on campus and emphasizes the need to nurture students' well-being before it gets trauma caused by gun violence.
"Understanding their culture, their concerns, their issues, sometimes you got to take them to lunch," McPhatter said.
"It's a lot different than policing in a municipality, so we have to contend with the relationships that they have at home, with the law enforcement in those areas, and sometimes it is not a great relationship," McPhatter said.
