Keiana Smith
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Rock Hill, S.C.) – After a shooting in August near the Winthrop University campus, left an 18-year-old man on life support, some students have raised concerns about how safe it is on campus and in the surrounding areas.

Winthrop is an open campus and many people are able to walk through the campus, which can be scary for some students.

Freshman Maite Torres said she thinks the openness of the campus is a little intimidating and she wishes Winthrop would provide more lights at night.

“Parts of the campus get dark at night, which can be a little frightening. I just wish they’d add more lights by places like Courtyard,” Torres said.

Winthrop Police Chief Charles Yerta says that overall Winthrop’s campus is safe, but that doesn’t mean bad things can’t happen.

“Just because we’ve never had an incident on this campus doesn’t mean in the next hour, two hours, next day, next month or next year, that something may not occur on this campus,” Yerta said.

“The best thing that we can do for planning on those is obviously the police department itself does a variety of training in-house for our own people to make sure we are going to do the right thing.”

Yerta said the best way to stay safe around campus is to be aware of your surroundings, report suspicious things and keep doors to campus buildings closed.

“I know it comes off a little bit rude and it’s a total 180 than what our parents probably taught us, but realistically we need people to understand that they need to shut those doors behind them, not open doors for people who are knocking or who they don’t know,” he said.

Winthrop students aren’t the only ones thinking about safety. Rock Hill resident Brianna Cleary says she is often thinking about the safety of her and her kids.

“I know there are certain parts of Rock Hill I wouldn’t feel safe going, but as a whole I’ve been living here for four years, I’ve never felt unsafe, I’ve never felt like myself or my kids were in harm’s way,” Cleary said.

To improve safety, Winthrop requires all students to take an annual safety training course and review and acknowledge the university’s policies.