As homecoming season kicks off in Maryland, with football teams gearing up for games and an influx of returning alumni, concerns about campus safety have intensified following on-campus shootings in recent years.

Several universities shared similar messages, alerting people that homecoming’s previously carefree celebrations now come with stricter security measures this year. “To ensure the safety of our community, we’ve implemented several security upgrades across campus and new safety procedures for Homecoming,” Bowie State spokesperson David Thompson said.

Among the steps institutions are taking to help minimize potential threats from gun violence are expanding camera networks, enforcing stricter event registration and even deploying aerial drones. At a time when alumni and current students often come together to celebrate at their respective institutions, this homecoming season will be marked by an uptick in security and surveillance across some campuses.

Past shootings

A year ago, five people — four men and one woman, ages 18 to 22 — were shot on the campus of Morgan State University in Baltimore, resulting in the university postponing its homecoming football game and canceling classes and additional celebrations for the rest of the week.

Days later, two 19-year-old men were found shot at Bowie State University in Prince George’s County at the end of the university’s homecoming celebration on Oct. 7. The victims, who were not students, did not sustain life-threatening injuries, according to Maryland State Police.

Bowie State President Aminta Breaux expressed her discontent over the shooting. “For a week, our campus was filled with nothing but happiness and joy,” Breaux said at the time. “Our campus community is very much a peaceful community. This is not normal for Bowie State University.”

In 2022, a 20-year-old, who was not a Morgan State student, was shot during an “unsanctioned” party outside the university’s student center. And the previous year, an 18-year-old student was shot in the chest during an event on campus, according to university officials.

A Towson University student and two others unaffiliated with the university were also shot Sept. 4, 2021, at an unsanctioned party within Freedom Square, the academic core of the campus where students are known to congregate. It happened in the early morning the day of an afternoon football game played at another school, about six weeks before Towson’s homecoming.

In response to the string of shootings during homecoming season, campus police departments are implementing additional security measures and protocols.

New security measures

Out of several universities with upcoming homecoming celebrations, Morgan shared the most about its safety plans. Larry Jones, an assistant vice president for Morgan’s Office of Public Relations and Strategic Communications, said in a statement, “For added security and to ensure a safe, enjoyable homecoming experience, the university will deploy various new security measures and enhancements,” between Sept. 30 through Oct. 6.

Enhanced security measures at Morgan include an expanded network of surveillance cameras equipped with “advanced” software that can detect weapons and LVT mobile security camera towers, which will be placed in various locations on campus for monitoring.

Aerial drones will also be deployed to monitor the campus, alongside license plate readers to identify vehicles linked to any potential threats in real-time.

The campus will also officially close at 7 p.m., and Morgan Police will begin clearing the area at 6:30 p.m. The university said it will enforce its clear bag protocol, requiring all event attendees to use transparent bags when entering university facilities.

Jones added that university police will also partner with several law enforcement agencies “to increase security presence and responsiveness to potential undesirable acts,” including the Baltimore Police Department, Maryland State Police and Maryland Transportation Authority Police.

Towson University declined to comment on measures it was taking ahead of it’s homecoming celebrations on Oct. 13 through Oct. 19, with spokesperson Jamie Abell saying, “we don’t generally pre-empt matters of safety by discussing them publicly.”

In Prince George’s County, both Bowie State University and the University of Maryland in College Park, the state’s flagship university, will also celebrate homecoming during the week of Oct. 13 through Oct. 19.

Thompson, the spokesperson for Bowie State, said this year, all guests will be required to register for each event for the duration of homecoming week.

“Registration allows us to provide important safety information and updates to attendees before, during and after Homecoming. Knowing who will be on-site makes it easier to account for everyone in case of an emergency and enables quick communication during emergencies,” Thompson said.

In an effort to proactively identify any unauthorized individuals, Thompson added that this year’s registration implementation also helps ensure that the campus doesn’t exceed safe limits, which is “crucial for crowd control and emergency evacuations,” he said.

There will also be additional screening protocols at Bowie State that require people to present a Bulldog student identification card or state identification and a vehicle tag number to enter the university premises.

Nearly 20 blue light emergency phones have also been installed on Bowie State’s campus, as well as more enhanced lighting towers, which are designed to “deter criminals and give students and guests a direct line and light to emergency services,” Thompson said.

Rebecca Aloisi, senior director for communications at UMD, said the university “looks forward to welcoming Terp alumni back” to campus. Overall visitation on game days averages more than 30,000 attendees, and 35,580 people attended last year’s homecoming game, Aloisi said.

While the school did not answer questions about specific security measures being put in place for homecoming, the University of Maryland Police, with 104 sworn officers, oversees all campus safety personnel strategies.

According to UMPD’s Annual Security Report, released on Oct. 1, there were no on-campus shootings in the past three years. However, university police made a total of 9 weapons possession arrests from 2021 through 2023 at on-campus or off-campus buildings and properties.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct information about an on-campus shooting. The incident happened the morning before a game and several weeks before homecoming.