The campus will be closed to anyone who is not a student, faculty or staff member.

University. I would like to share an update concerning actions that we have taken since the shooting that took place on our campus in the early morning hours of last Sunday, November 10th and then I will take *** few questions. The university has canceled classes for our students this week to ensure they are able to focus on their mental health. I've also met with our Student government Association president, held some dorm meetings and will continue as we listen to the needs of our students. It is important to recognize that many students are hurt in many ways, some physical and others emotional. The number of 16 that is often reported in the media reflects those who may have gone to the hospitals, other ailments which are countless occurred throughout our Tuskegee community. Our focus remains on the healing of these students and we pray for the young man that was lost and his family. I've also sat in town halls with students, parents, faculty and staff and I've heard their concerns. Our students experienced *** traumatic situation that I am sure will linger with them for *** long time. And we want to ensure they have the support that they need to focus on their studies and finish the semester successfully. Nonetheless, it is our responsibility to secure the campus and we move on so that our students can successfully complete what they came here for an education. We have started that process for hiring up to eight additional police officers allowing us to provide 24 7 security patrols while the hiring process is ongoing, we will bring up to 12 additional officers to the campus for immediate 24 7 security starting on this Monday, November 18th. This is more than what we have had in recent memory. My goal is for students to see sworn officers walk the campus, walk through offices and classroom buildings and dormitories where they live. We are restructuring the front gate and adding an electronic arm to make it clear that this is not *** campus where you can simply enter. We will install 400 additional cameras with common vision which will be able to detect weapons and we will add them to the 500 cameras we already have. If you were around the campus earlier today, you would have noticed contractors mending breaches in our perimeter gates that were previously accessible. We're also adding metal metal detectors as permanent fixtures, adding key fobs and keypad security that alerts when doors are propped open. It's important to note that we will move to the use of *** security application called Rave as one of our emergency notification systems. Students will need to have this application on their phones. It's also important to note that today, more than 40 additional mobile lights are being placed as needed throughout the campus, the entire campus will be lit. And as I mentioned last Monday, the campus is now closed, only badged individuals will be allowed on campus. If you are visiting our campus, you must stop by the public safety building here across from the main gate to get *** visitor's pass. Otherwise, our security team on the gate have been directed to turn you around and not allow your entry. We will continue to have one gate open the Lincoln Gate and this may mean delays coming on to campus. So build in *** little extra time for that. This is *** small sacrifice for the greater good. The bottom line here is that Tuskegee University is *** secure campus that is *** promise to our students, their parents, our faculty and staff. With that in mind, Tuskegee students and faculty will return to campus for in-person learning on Monday, November 18th 2024. However, there are no classes on Monday on Monday, we have *** planned *** day of healing. We're asking students, faculty and staff to join us in the university chapel on our Avenue and at the stadium on Monday where we all can come together to show our support for one another and our tu strength. We are tu strong and I want our students to know that the full schedule of events for our day of healing will be publicized to our community. Some students may require special accommodations due to injuries. We are prepared to work with them to ensure they can finish the semester successfully. I and my leadership team made the decision to return to in person learning based on the feedback received from many other universities that experienced similar tragedies mental health experts and many many others throughout the country. We also considered the diverse opinions of students and their parents Tuskegee University. We are as strong as the bricks our students use to build, to build the buildings over 100 years ago, buildings that still stand today. It is in this spirit of strength that we will not allow the criminals that invaded our sacred space to prevail, we will continue to take care of and educate our students. Now, I will take *** few questions, what other schools have given these suggestions that you just mentioned. I'm not not at liberty to give you their actual names, but I will tell you that they had school shootings and those kind of issues the same as we have. How did you decide on the number of officers that you mentioned that you're gonna bring on and and how would they, what would their jobs be that weren't, weren't in place before? So we decided based on the size of our campus, the number of buildings that we have on campus and the need to be 24 7. So we're operating two ships and what we are asking them to do is to parade by foot to go around the campus, check the doors, go through buildings, check through dormitories and do that. We have not done that 24 7. In the past, we've had *** more scaled down version now and with the number that I suggested we will do that 24 7, I was, you mentioned metal detectors. Can you give us an idea of where those would be and what kind of areas you plan on placing those? Well, I don't want to give you all of the exacts, but I will tell you in anywhere where there is *** large gathering, we will have metal detectors and your entry point, there will be metal detectors. If you come into the campus, you go through *** metal detector or *** metal wand. So we will use them strategically, some of them will be mobile. In other words, if we have big crowds going to *** certain place, we may use them there. And how would the cameras be able to detect any weapons that may be on individuals who are on campus? Well, with today's automation, uh the cameras along with the other systems that we are talking about, and I'll give you an example, can detect on loud noises that sound like gunfire and then alert to our, to our control systems so that we might respond in the event. We were not where that gunfire was. Cameras can also read tags to tell us who comes in and comes out and record those kinds of things. So we believe like many others who are in the security business that the use of cameras with the modern technology is exactly how we can take 24 7 vision of our campus and the critical elements. Can you give us an update on the criminal investigation? Uh any uh any any more charges ending in the criminal investigation? Right. So that's not our purview. Uh I can tell you that it is ongoing uh and we support everything that they need to do. But th those are other agencies outside of the university that conducts those investigations. So right now the considered closed, will that be the moving forward? Considering that we are *** closed campus? We are *** closed campus henceforth uh for the foreseeable future? That's the case. Um I was gonna ask, can you go into further details about the app and how students are able to use it um in the event of emergency duress, you can push it in the event of duress. At the same time, I can call for an all shel shelter, shelter in place or release shelter in place. In other words, *** centralized way for *** student right in the palm of their hand to notify us of *** concern. And for us to respond to all students at one time classes will resume on Tuesday. Uh We will be back in full force on Monday. But that, as I said earlier is *** day of healing. Just one other question. I understand that you dismissed the chief of Security. Was there an updated? So you have *** news release on that? Ok. All right. I, I do have one other question. I, I just have to ask, I know that you're only in this role for the last few months and that there were probably things that were in place before you came into your current role. Um But what was your understanding of what campus security was like before Saturday? So what I would, what I would tell you is our posture uh for campus security before Saturday would have been *** routine campus security for ***, *** university. Uh We had guards at our gates. Uh, we had, uh, people that were being checked, that's not the issue at all. It, it's important to note that we were invaded by criminals who thought with *** criminal mind. Well, beyond what you would think on ***, on *** campus for security. So what we're doing, uh, is in response to the world that we have right now where guns and proliferation of guns are an issue for us on our campus. So that's what I can tell you, ma'am. I have, I have to thank you. Thanks, everyone. Have *** Good day. You got it.