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MSU completes classroom lock installation year-and-a-half after campus shooting
MSU Infrastructure Planning and Facilities installed hundreds of new classroom door locks over the summer.
This latest update marks the end of a year-and-a-half long lock installation process prompted by the campus shooting that killed three and injured five students in February 2023.
The process has, at times, been a topic of debate on campus. MSU came under scrutiny soon after the shooting due to the lack of locks on all classroom doors. Once the university decided to install locks, the rate of installation and MSU’s decision not to adopt all recommendations given by an outside firm last year were also subject to criticism.
With the process now complete, some students and faculty say they are relieved to have the added security measures in the wake of the shooting.
According to IPF communications manager Erica Venton, 800 classrooms and teaching labs were evaluated for door locks.
Work was done in 59 different buildings across campus, all of which are primary buildings for classes. Every dormitory building containing classrooms received new locks as well as buildings commonly used for large gatherings such as the Kellogg Center, MSU Pavilion and the MSU Auditorium.
The new locks will allow those inside the rooms to lock the doors while still allowing emergency personnel to enter, Venton said. But not all classrooms have the same kind of locks, and some already had the ability to lock prior to the installation process.
When pushed, the lockdown buttons — designated for larger, auditorium-style classrooms — lock all doors into the room and notify emergency personnel. Instructions on how to use the buttons are located next to the doors.
Doors with access control and lockdown buttons are connected to the new security operations center on campus, where they can be automatically locked by employees in the center in case of emergency.
The thumb-turn locks allow for clear identification as to whether or not the door is locked using red and green signage.
Last fall, it appeared that MSU was planning on only installing the thumb turn locks, despite a recommendation from an outside firm’s review to install automatic locks.
The MSU Department of Police and Public Safety’s decision at the time was based on locks used by other Big Ten universities, as well as feedback from students and faculty who said doors being locked during instruction could lead to distractions in class.
The firm recommended installing magnetic door holders that could close and lock the door if it were to be open.
MSU DPPS rejected the recommendation, citing that in their assessment the primary need was the ability to lock classroom doors in an expeditious manner and that installing magnetic door holders would not meet that goal.
The locks installed this summer can only be employed when the door is already closed.
MSU Broad launches museum project with art exploring childhood, Black liberation
In 2021, MSU Broad Art Museum curator Steven Bridges and other staff members questioned what their space had to offer that no other museum could. They kept returning to the unique geometric architecture designed by Zaha Hadid: reflective metal panels, unique lighting, and high and low ceilings.
They decided they wanted to invite artists to make pieces specifically designed for the space that would incorporate their own artistic identities.
While planning was still underway, Steven had an unrelated virtual studio visit with artist Esmaa Mohamoud to discuss her exhibition showcased in the museum last year. The conversation ventured into Esmaa’s plans for her future work.
Her previous focus was using the language of athletics to talk about body, gender and race. This time, she was looking to pivot into making art about Black childhood and nostalgia.
That’s when Steven blurted out the idea for the new commissioned series.
Three years later, Esmaa’s “COMPLEX DREAMS” became the inaugural exhibit in the museum’s new “Signature Commissioned Series,” which invites artists from around the world to respond directly to the museum’s architecture.
The “COMPLEX DREAMS” exhibit consists of three art pieces in the Julie and Edward Minskoff Gallery.
One of those is a sculpture of a young Black girl. The entire piece is a deep black color — except for her gold hoop earrings.
The sculpture’s materials also hold significance. Esmaa used shea butter due to her nostalgic memories of the scent from her childhood. When trying to decide on another material that could evoke memory, she settled on charred animal bones, which she used to color the piece.
The sculpted girl leans forward as she looks at a white fence in front of her, which is the second piece in the installation.
Looking closer at the piece allows the viewer to see that the vines of ivy are actually barbed wire. This causes the plants to shift from having an inviting quality to a sinister one, Steven said.
The juxtaposition of the white fence and dark sculpture was deliberate for Esmaa. She painted the fence white to resemble a white picket fence, but she made it a chain link material.
While the fence represented societal and systemic issues, it also represented her inner conflict. Esmaa wrote that she wanted to focus on the idea that “when you grow up in a subsidized housing complex and you grow up poor, you assume that will be the trajectory of your life.”
The third component of the installation lies beyond the fence, where 5,999 handcrafted steel monarch butterflies hang from the ceiling. One butterfly has escaped, resting on the tip of the museum’s exterior as a reminder of fleeting moments and the desire for freedom.
“Monarch butterflies are incredible creatures,” Steven said. “They travel up to 3,000 miles every year for their annual migration. They have a very distinct color pattern and they’re also ectothermic, meaning they often cluster together to keep each other warm. So they kind of symbolize liberation and freedom, especially when considering their metamorphosis as well.”
More information about other pieces featured from Esmaa can be found on The State News website.
Based on original reporting by Hannah Holycross and Somer Sodeman.
