Frequent crime alerts leave MSU students on high alert

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Michigan State University students are saying life on campus still doesn’t feel normal again.

Related: MSU’s Berkey Hall to remain closed for rest of school year, Union building to reopen

“I’m always on high alert of my surroundings and just being cautious,” said James Rawson.

James Rawson is a student in the school of social work. Although the emergency alert system keeps those informed of crimes in the area, he said it seems like the alerts come on a weekly basis.

This includes cases of assault, gunshots, possible kidnapping and more recently, a person seen with a knife near West Circle Drive last week.

“I remember last week was the knife attack and that was highly concerning for any of us especially when we have in-person classes,” said Rawson.

Johnny Vlahakis is the general manager of El Azteco. He said he hasn’t seen a lot of violence and feels the area is safe.

“It’s a college town, there’s always gonna be wild college kids running around making noise,” said Vlahakis. “But aside from that, I’ve been running around these streets since I was a kid and I still feel safe walking on the sidewalk at night here.”

For others, constant crime alerts are worrisome.

“We hope that we can get some normalcy,” said Rawson.

News 10 reached out to the City of East Lansing and the police department, but they were not able to comment on the matter.

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