Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland – an HBCU – has announced they have decided to postpone or cancel a number of events for its annual Homecoming weekend following a mass shooting on its campus Tuesday.
The university’s president, David Wilson, announced the decision that day – revealing that a number of the school’s traditional events wouldn’t be happening after five people were shot.
‘It is with great consternation that I deliver this message to our University community following the most unfortunate of events that occurred on our campus last evening,’ the statement began.
‘On behalf of our entire Morgan community including our Board of Regents, my administrative team, faculty and staff, we extend our thoughts and prayers to those students injured in this heinous act of violence. Their care and recovery are a top priority.
‘Today, we unfortunately find ourselves navigating this tragic event during a time at which we should be celebrating our National Treasure during Homecoming. Please understand that the safety of our campus is of the utmost importance and our resolve in ensuring that we have a secure campus is paramount.
A mass shooting at Morgan State University in Baltimore on Tuesday saw five people injured
The shooting led to the school deciding to alter many of its Homecoming Weekend plans
‘In response to last evening’s events, we are aggressively increasing security measures on campus, further amplifying additional security measures that have been implemented in recent years.
‘Regarding Homecoming, regrettably for the very first time in Morgan’s history all activities planned around Homecoming will be either cancelled or postponed until the perpetrator(s) of this atrocity have been found and brought to justice.’
The cancelled activities include Morgan State’s Homecoming Concert, Pep Rally, and Parade as well as their women’s volleyball team’s match.
Their homecoming game against Stony Brook and the school’s annual homecoming gala have been postponed.
Morgan State said they, ‘arrived at this decision after very careful—and at times emotional—deliberation with key stakeholders within our University community including members of my administration, student leaders from SGA and our University Council.’
In the community of historically black colleges and universities, homecoming has a particularly high importance as the epicenter of HBCU culture and community.
Homecomings are typically week-long celebrations with appearances by famous alumni and other celebrities, celebratory events, fashion galas, dance shows, and partying among the more commonly planned events.
It’s all typically centered around a ‘homecoming’ football game – where the product on the field is about as important, if not sometimes less so, than the halftime performances by marching bands. That includes Morgan State’s ‘Magnificent Marching Machine’.
That includes the postponement of the school’s annual Homecoming football game
Homecoming is an important part of the culture of historically black colleges and universities
In addition to these homecoming events, all classes for the remainder of the week have been cancelled.
Morgan State says they will ‘implement campus-wide programming geared towards the health and welfare of our University community’.
No suspects have been detained, but Baltimore Police are actively searching for at least two people believed to be involved – if not more.
Police said that all the shots were fired by at least one shooter who missed their intended target and hit five bystanders – four of which were Morgan students aged 18-22 – at a campus dining hall.
Those students suffered non-life-threatening injuries and one of the five victims had been released as of Wednesday morning.
