By Dreema Carrington,
Morgan State University Intern
A gruesome tradition
As Morgan State University (MSU) wraps up another homecoming, students cope with the news of yet another on-campus shooting.
Luckily, the homecoming shooting didn’t claim a life, however, an unnamed 20-year-old man was left injured. He was struck in front of the university’s student center around 10 p.m. This is the second year in a row shots have been fired on the Baltimore campus during the annual celebration. MSU’s homecoming in 2021 ended in an 18-year-old student being hospitalized after a shooting on Montebello Street.
Julian Fruh had just celebrated his 19th birthday when he was shot and killed on the 4400 block of Marble Hall Road in August. The young security guard was finishing up his usual rounds along the apartment complex with a coworker when he was allegedly approached and murdered by MSU student Chase Marco Wilson.
According to Baltimore police, the two men had been communicating on the phone prior to the shooting. Through security footage and a search through Fruh’s phone, authorities believed that Wilson was the culprit. Police say they were able to match clothing seen on the security camera with clothing found inside Wilson’s apartment. In addition to this, police say they recovered marijuana and a digital scale from the scene.
Fruh later died of a gunshot wound to the head at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Following this news, questions have begun to arise on the decreasing level of safety on Morgan State’s campus and residential buildings. Students are often forewarned about the common dangers of east Baltimore, but is violent crime being properly addressed when a microscope is put on the 175 acres of Morgan?
According to Morgan’s archived security and fire safety reports, the number of criminal offenses occurring within on-campus student housing has been on the rise.
In 2014, there was only one incident reported for on-campus student housing. In 2019 the figure increased to 12. Specifically, seven robberies, one aggravated assault, and four rapes. Meanwhile, the amount of reported non-campus crimes has dropped, going from 12 to four when comparing 2014 and 2019. While those are only the reported figures, it alludes to an unexpected trend that isn’t going unnoticed by students.
For the 2021 fall and spring semesters, strategic communications student Cameron Kelly was roomed with Chase Marco Wilson at the Marble Hall Garden Apartments. At the time, Wilson was simply known as just a temporary roommate and familiar face. Now, he’s known campus-wide as a suspected murderer.
“You can’t say that’s just an abnormal event, it happens every year,” Kelly said, of the shooting.
“This is, what, the third, fourth shooting in two years from Morgan State students? …It’s sad to say but that’s normal.”
Keeping both sides safe
Wilson has been apprehended, charged with first-degree murder, and obviously removed from the student body. Still, many students are left reeling from hearing gunshots so close to their living space. While the shooting is certainly tragic, it’s not entirely new and adds to a haunting precedent. In 2016, former Morgan student Harry Malik Robinson was charged with first- and second-degree murder after the stabbing death of 21-year-old student Gerald Williams. Similarly to the recent shooting, the incident occurred right in front of a student housing complex and was over a botched drug purchase.
“Yeah, it brings a horrible outlook, cause we do so much great things,” Kelly explained.
“But those ten minutes of us cutting up is like, really cutting up, it’s really bad. It’s not just a little hiccup, Nah we airing our whole homecoming out. It’s complicated ‘cause it’s easily preventable from the school, but the philosophy of the school that it takes brings on those types of chances.”
When discussing Morgan’s relationship with violent crime, many turn to Baltimore City’s historic issues with keeping guns off the streets. With the city clocking in at 337 homicides and over 726 shootings last year, it’s easy to blame outside influences for troubles on campus. However, it’s often ignored just how much violent crimes are committed on Morgan’s own turf, by their own Bears. The question is, does the school do its part? Some may say yes. After the shooting of Fruh, the university immediately dispatched extra police around the apartment complex. Nonetheless, not everyone is quite satisfied with the efforts and some say there’s more to be done.
Seeking a better future
It’s a culture that’s not only recognized by students but also by members of the security staff. In an interview with a contracted security guard near the school’s Communication Center who preferred to remain anonymous, it’s clear students aren’t the only ones feeling a tad apprehensive when the sun goes down.
“I mean the safety part…I don’t really think it’s that safe,” they said. “That’s why I don’t work the night shift.”
For the front door security guards like Julian Fruh, who are expected to hold down the campus’s buildings into the night, it’s hard not to feel intimidated in light of recent events. Contracted employees operate separately from the university’s police department and aren’t given the same amenities or tools. Still, they’re tasked with similar responsibilities.
Although things may seem bleak when speaking to Morganites, many say they still feel safe in general while being on campus. They simply feel that there’s room for improvement. One art major had plenty of suggestions to help keep her mind at ease.
“I wish there were more emergency poles where you can dial for police or security. I wish they were in more areas that people know about, ’cause I only know of two.” she said.
“I wish there were more lights. Around campus sometimes at nighttime, it’s extremely dark depending on where you are.”
She continued, “Like the metal detector things? Have people checking. So when there are big events happening say, ‘Okay you cannot have any weapons at this event’ or ‘You can’t enter this building or that building’ that would make people feel a little safer. That would make me feel a little safer.”
Morgan State University is changing more and more every day. The brand new Thurgood Marshall Residence Hall was revealed in August and already houses over 600 students. Moreover, Morgan has a new campus dining hall, just completed development on the Northwood Commons shopping center, and a new university bookstore in the works for 2023. Not to mention the massive uptick in enrollment with 8,800 students enrolling this fall. It’s a university with plenty to boast about, but if the issue of on-campus and residential crime isn’t aggressively addressed, can Morgan ever truly call itself a top-of-the-line institution?
“Would I send my kid here? Ummm…I would say yeah because Morgan State is gonna have a better future than what they have now.” Cameron Kelly said.
“Like, I think it’s completely different than what we’ll see ten years, fifteen years from now.”
There’s no telling what the future holds for Morgan State University, but one thing never changes. Safety is the number one priority for parents, students, and security. With time, hopefully, it can become the university’s number one priority as well.
Campus officials and police all declined to comment on this story.
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