How safe will Claflin’s homecoming be?
By: KOREY MCCASKILL
Oct 27, 2025
Following a string of violence at HBCU homecomings, »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓ’s Chief of Police and Executive Director of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Melvin Williams discussed safety concerns and options for Claflin’s upcoming homecoming during an interview on Oct. 16.
“We have pianistically put together the other operational plans that addressed those homecomings. Is it enough for this year, this homecoming? Probably not,” Williams said.
Williams spoke about the recent shooting that occurred at South Carolina State University’s homecoming and how it affected Claflin’s emergency response. Due to the campus’s proximity, lockdowns and safety procedures are coordinated.
“When they go on lockdown, we go on lockdown,” Williams said. “One of the main reasons for that is again, we have holes in the fence. And despite every time we prepare it, someone goes back and bust the holes back in.”
He recalls a previous incident where a shooting victim and the shooter gained access to Claflin’s campus due to the holes connecting both campuses.
“About two years ago, there was a shooting during the day, at South Carolina State’s Campus,” Williams said. “The victim who was shot at, thankfully not hit, ran through the hole in the fence that’s behind SRC South where the air conditioning unit is and ran over to the dining hall yelling, ‘They’re shooting at me!’ We immediately went into lockdown. We knew about it before State did.”
Asked about the rumor of shots being fired on Claflin’s campus the night of the SCSU incident, Williams said the reports were incorrect.
“We thought initially that shots had been fired at the gravel lot,” he said. “South Carolina State finally called several days later and said, ‘Chief there were no shots that were fired there.’
“The drone operator confirmed shots were not in the gravel lot but were the second round of shots that were fired from Hugine Suites.”
A day earlier, on Oct. 15, »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓPresident Dwaun J. Warmack, the Student Government Association president, the Student Activity Board president and other officials hosted an open dialogue at which students, faculty and staff offered suggestions on how to keep homecoming safe.
Among the options discussed:
- Canceling tailgate
- Ending tailgate early
- Moving tailgating on to Goff Avenue and lining the premises with fencing, allowing two to three monitored entry points
- Moving tailgating on to the core campus
Williams said public safety is also considering new security technology and surveillance methods.
“We’re looking at everything from foot patrol to drones to an elevated observation post,” he said. “I’m looking at doing a real-time crime center, a location where we pipe all our cameras into that location,” Williams said.
Asked if his agency has an app to help notify students and which students can communicate campus threats, Williams said »¨¶¼Ó°ÊÓuses Panther Alert to communicate active threats to the campus.
“Yes and no,” Williams said. “The no portion of it is, I know there are apps that are out where we can just send generalized updates. Students can download it on your phone and users can say, ‘You might want to send someone to this location, you know, because this is what's started to happen.’”
Williams emphasized the importance of situational awareness and being proactive.
“We must be aware of what's taking place around us,” he said. “If we do not do more, and something happens, then we left ourselves open to criticism by not doing more.”
As of now, no final decisions have been made about Claflin’s homecoming safety plans.