Michigan State University is expecting to finish installing locks on most academic classrooms on campus by the end of the year. The move was prompted by the Feb. 13 mass shooting after a gunman entered campus buildings shooting and killing three students and injuring five others.
Since the incident, MSU has made several security changes including installing locks on nearly 800 classrooms and labs on campus.
Originally, the university expected to have all of its classroom locks installed by the beginning of the fall semester. But public safety officials said supply chain issues are delaying completion until next year.
“The remaining will occur over time throughout the spring semester in a similar fashion as they have this fall,” said MSU’s Chief Safety Officer Marlon Lynch.
The locks installed on the doors are thumb-turn-style, which allow a door to be manually locked from the inside by using a button or a turn-knob.
An independent review of MSU’s response of the February mass shooting, released in October, recommended installing storeroom function locks and magnetic door holders in classrooms that would close and lock automatically during campus lockdowns, locking doors from the outside.
"Classroom doors should never be unlocked unless a staff member is gaining access," the report recommends. "After our assessment, it was identified that MSU has already upgraded 65% of the classroom locks to thumb-turn-style locks. This doesn’t address the automatic locking of doors during an event, but it does provide the ability for staff and students to lock the door, if necessary, mechanically."
Lynch said MSU public safety officials are not changing their installation plans to accommodate the recommendations.
“That particular locking device that was selected, was chosen, based on the fact that they were in use at our peer institutions," Lynch said.
MSU plans to finish installing all locks on the identified classrooms next spring.
