Georgia State University Parent Voices Concerns Over Student and Campus Safety

ATLANTA-- Parents of students attending Georgia State University have voiced concerns over student and campus security after a frenzied weekend. This past Saturday ended with illegal street racing and violence at the intersection of John Wesley Dobbs.

The next day, multiple gunshots were heard, leading to the injury of at least two individuals who were located just a block away from each other. After the events, there were reports of broken glass windows at Reflections, a student apartment nearby.

A concerned parent expressed her disbelief concerning the situation on her daughter's campus.

“I was absolutely shocked that this was going on at a college campus where there is supposed to be security and police. As someone who has worked in the emergency service field for nearly 15 years, I just could not believe this was happening,” said Nicole Wilkerson.

The early hours of Saturday morning are the first time Wilkerson remembers hearing about the “chaos” that broke out near a student apartment complex. She had received a text from her daughter at around 1:30 a.m.

By this point, there had already been a large crowd of individuals standing in the middle of the road, blocking access to the streets and crosswalks. “I’m absolutely concerned over my daughter's safety on campus because if they are allowing these incidents to happen, then that means there is no security or no safety measures being taken,” Wilkerson said.

The Georgia State University police chief, Anthony Coleman, sent out a message to all students, calling the behavior “disappointing and unacceptable.”

Alongside Coleman, Georgia State’s president, Brian Blake, also sent out a message noting that Georgia State is working with the City of Atlanta to “increase its police presence in the area.”

Wilkerson shared her concern and disappointment with the way the police force and security handled the incidents.

“We pay these outrageous amounts of money for our children to go to school and live on campus, you know, in hopes that our children are safe, and that’s obviously not the case.”

According to Wilkerson, her daughter notified her of "another large group of individuals the next day," who had been outside for hours without police intervention.

“These events went on for hours without any police intervening,” Wilkerson said. “She even sent me a video on TikTok of a security guard touching a student inappropriately during one of the incidents. I was disgusted at the poor responses from the Georgia State campus police and APD.”

Students on campus have already begun making efforts to (stop) the violence. A petition on Change.org has been started in hopes of getting the local RaceTrac shut down, as several students believe that it is the starting point for much of the violence.

This comes just four months after a Georgia State student was shot and killed outside of the same RaceTrac.

“The biggest safety problem that I notice as a parent is that Georgia State is obviously a very open and accessible campus, and with it being this way, it seems as if there is still little policing or consequences. These students and people who don’t even attend GSU are allowed to do anything on campus. The only time the police and security are around to safeguard is when something actually happens, but until then, you’re just on your own,” Wilkerson said.

In a heartfelt message, Wilkerson conveyed a final message to the students, faculty, police, and other parents.

“I just want everyone involved with Georgia State’s campus to know that if nothing is done to increase safety on campus, more and more students will be in harm's way and will continue to get hurt or even killed. I dread thinking about my child who is never involved in any of these types of incidents getting harmed because of a lack of safety on her college campus which she calls her home for the time being. She is supposed to feel safe, and I know she doesn’t feel like this is the case anymore. I think it’s always important to remember that bad things can still happen to innocent students.”