Across the country, both genuine and false reports of campus gun violence have left college students on edge. On September 10, Turning Point USA leader Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in the neck at an event on Utah Valley Universitys campus. Additionally, a recent wave of gun violence hoaxes has hit at least a dozen colleges and universities, according to The Associated Press. This phenomenon, called swatting, aims to elicit a response from authorities and ultimately cause chaos and disruption. While Missouri has remained largely untouched by this threat, the University of Arkansas received a false shooting report on Monday, Aug. 25, prompting lockdowns, evacuations, and a law enforcement response. This incident hit close to home, as many MSU students have relatives and friends who attend U of A. According to senior political science major Mia Ray, her brother was on the Arkansas campus when the lockdown was put into effect. I guess he was walking to class, and he got an alert on his phone that there was a shooter on campus and didnt think anything of it; kept walking to class, Ray said. Someone grabbed him outside of a building and pulled him inside. And so, they were locked down in the basement of a building. I think they were there for about two hours. I was pretty shaken, freaking out, because thats just not the kind of news you want to get. But unfortunately, its not the most unexpected thing in the world. In November 2024, newly appointed Director of Campus Safety Robert Rowley appeared before the Student Senate expressing concerns about the $5 student security fee, which funds the hiring of campus safety specialists and has not been increased in about 20 years. According to Rowley, We had to eliminate one campus safety specialist position earlier this year. As for being adequately staffed, I would say we are just barely adequately staffed to provide the current level of service. We dont have much wiggle room for staffing if someone is sick or on vacation. Additionally, dispatch frequently works with only one dispatcher on duty, which is less than ideal. In response to student feedback from that forum, Rowley and Campus Safety launched the Bear Shield app this fall. The initiative is aimed at increasing two-way communication between students and officers, making reporting an incident easier than ever. Missouri State has long utilized a partnership with the Springfield Police Department via their campus substation to ensure student safety. At its August meeting, the Board of Governors renewed the Intergovernmental Agreement for Law Enforcement Services for Fiscal Year 2026 at the cost of $1,144,794.20. Residence Life will pay 25% of this contract. For an additional sense of safety on campus, students are strongly encouraged to download the Bear Shield app, available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. The app features an emergency slider button which can be used to quickly contact Campus Safety, as well as the ability to submit a tip anonymously or with contact information. The launch of this new technology represents a shift toward a new era of crowd-sourced security, with students now having the ability to play a more active role in their campus's safety.