All classrooms, labs and lecture halls at Mason Hall on the main University of Michigan campus now have lockable doors in preparation for the semester that starts Sept. 3.
That response to active shooter fears will be added at other buildings. "The new door locks will help faculty, staff and students facilitate a faster lockdown in the case of an emergency," a UM statement says. Installation of interior bolts began last week
Mason Hall was the focus of a March scare. (Photo: UM)
Eddie L. Washington Jr., executive director of public safety and security, says Mason Hall is the first site because it's near busy campus Diag walkways. Last March, the building was the focus of shooting fears prompted by popping balloons.
“The safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors is our top priority,” Washington says in the posted release. “This project is part of our broader efforts to continuously identify technology, enhance alerting and implement training to ensure the safety and security of our community.”
Mason is the pilot site partly because of the spring scare and also because it's a central building used by many Ann Arbor undergraduates, university spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald tells Claire Hao of The Michgan Daily student newspaper.
