Following an incident on March 12 involving a student at the University Lofts parking deck, Georgia State’s Parking Services along with campus police are taking steps to ensure student safety on campus, which will include new gates in the University Loft’s parking deck.
Parents of Jordan Walker, the student who was followed out of the Lofts’ deck by an unknown individual, met with University officials because they believed the deck’s broken gates could have exacerbated the incident, according to Chris Connelly of Georgia State’s Office of Auxiliary and Support Services.
“Immediately after the incident, the gates were repaired,” Connelly said. “But since then it’s been broken about three times.”
The gates were again non-operational on the March 3. A technician who had arrived around noon that day to fix the gates said that they should be working within a few hours. He also said that he would be fixing the gates so that they would roll back down, but could not think of a reason why they were originally stuck.
Elias Brown, frequent student visitor of the campus and sibling of two Georgia State students, said that occasionally students try to walk through the gates. While they are coming down, they put their hands up so the gates will stay up.
“Afterwards, the gates just stay up and don’t come back down,” Brown said.
“It was like that [the night before],” junior Robert Tidwell, who parks at the Lofts, said. “This happens like once every two weeks.”
Connelly also said that a reoccurring problem that causes damage to the gates is when students ‘tailgate’ behind each other when driving through the gates.
Students do this by following closely behind other drivers to gain entrance through the gates when they don’t have access cards. He also said that the gates are promptly repaired but are broken again when students do this repeatedly.
“The new gates will be quicker response gates to deter students from tailgating and they’ll be more durable and reliable.” Connelly said.
He also said that installation can take several weeks to process, but that campus police are always available to assist students and ensure their safety.
“Student safety is paramount to us,” Connelly said.
Tidwell also lives in the University Lofts and said that students are better off walking with friends than walking alone through the deck at night.
“It’s not somewhere to walk down by yourself late at night. I’ve seen homeless people sleeping here at night sometimes,” he said.
Since March 12, no records have been found involving any similar incidents of suspicious activity or persons at the Loft’s deck, according to Records Office Manager Kiawana Wilborn of University Police.
For more information about staying safe on campus, students can visit the University Police Safety and Security website. The website lists resources like Panther Ambassadors and safety escorts for students walking on campus.
“It helps for students to be proactive,” Connelly said. “Be vigilant and aware of your surroundings. If you see something suspicious, let the GSU police know.”
