EAST LANSING, Mich. — Last November, Michigan State university announced they would be installing 300 new surveillance cameras. Students say it's a step in the right direction.
"When the tragedy with Brendan happened, we were all terribly struck by it. And I think that the 300 camera solution might hopefully prevent another thing like that from happening again," said MSU Junior, Eddie Yago.
MSU Spokesperson Dan Olsen said they began installing the new cameras last November, and this month all 300 are officially in place.
"It's really about the betterment of everybody's safety at night not because this campus get really dark at night. It gets scary and spooky," MSU Junior, Kenneth Franklin said.
In July of 2021, Fox 47 reported that MSU had at least 1,038 surveillance cameras on its East Lansing campus. The university discovered that some cameras around campus were not working; an issue that came to light when 18-year-old Brendan Santo went missing last October.
Now the university has over 1,300 functioning cameras, including some in every residence hall across campus.
"I think this is actually a really great measure, to be honest. It's long-awaited," said Simone Cleaves, a junior at the university.
Olsen said cameras are an important component of campus safety, but the work doesn't stop there. Olsen said the installation of the new cameras strengthen campus safety and security.
“The safety and security of our campus community and our students, faculty and staff is of the utmost importance. And we will continue to have conversations on ways in which we can further that safety now and into the future," Olsen said in a statement.
As part of the added safety measures, Olsen noted that the university installed temporary fencing around parts of the Red Cedar River where Santo's body was found.
The university also launched its Safe MSU app, which features a virtual friend walk that allows individuals to share their location with a trusted friend or family member as they progress toward their destination.
The schools is actively replacing lighting across campus with brighter and more efficient LED bulbs.
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