Trump admin probes Brown University’s 'security' after shooting: ‘Students deserve to feel safe’

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND: The Trump administration has launched an investigation into Brown University’s handling of the deadly shooting, focusing on whether the university failed to meet federal campus safety requirements.

The inquiry comes amid criticism of the campus’s emergency notification and security systems and could have implications for its federal funding.

Education Department probes Brown University over Clery Act violations

The US Department of Education on Monday, December 22, launched an investigation into Brown University over whether the Ivy League school violated the Clery Act, a federal law requiring institutions to disclose information about crimes on or near campus and issue timely alerts or risk losing access to federal student aid.

The department also emphasized that institutions must meet “campus safety and security-related requirements.”

The probe by the Trump administration is the latest action involving the university, which in July reached a $50 million deal with the federal government to regain hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen federal funding following investigations into its treatment of Jewish students and the use of race in admissions.

Trump administration faults Brown University security, delayed alerts

According to a press release, the agency alleges that Brown University’s surveillance and security systems “may not have been up to appropriate standards, allowing the suspect to flee while the university seemed unable to provide helpful information about the profile of the alleged assassin.” 

The university’s emergency notifications about the shooting were also delayed, according to reports from students and staff.

“Students deserve to feel safe at school, and every university across this nation must protect their students and be equipped with adequate resources to aid law enforcement,” Linda McMahon said in a statement.

“The Trump Administration will fight to ensure that recipients of federal funding are vigorously protecting students’ safety and following security procedures as required under federal law.”

Brown University ramps up security 

Christina Paxson, the university president, said in a letter to the campus community that Brown University has a rapid response team prioritizing immediate safety and security measures during the winter break and ahead of the spring semester.

The measures include boosting police and safety officer presence, adding more security cameras and panic alarms, and launching security reviews for high-profile events.

The School of Engineering and Department of Physics complex, where the shooting occurred, will remain fully closed for now.

The university is also commissioning two external reviews of the incident, including a “complete assessment and evaluation of campus safety in the period leading up to the tragedy, the preparedness and response on the date of the shooting, and the emergency management response in the aftermath.”

“I have written and spoken to hundreds of students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni since the tragic events of Dec 13,” Paxson wrote. “The concerns our community has about safety and security are real. And I share them.”

“Brown’s security cameras do not extend to every hallway, classroom, laboratory, and office across the 250+ buildings on campus,” Brown spokesperson Brian Clark said in a statement last week.

“For security reasons, it is not prudent to share where cameras are and are not relative to individual buildings and locations.”