As Mississippi University for Women and Mississippi State University prepare to pitch their plans to house the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, crime rates on each campus could play a role in shaping their proposals.
On Friday, the Mississippi Department of Education requested the two universities submit a proposal to house and operate MSMS by Feb. 25, adding that a specific objective is to “provide a structured and supportive residential experience for high school students while ensuring safety and integration within the college setting.”
MSMS, a residential school for gifted juniors and seniors, opened at MUW in 1987.
Lowndes County Board of Supervisors President Trip Hairston, who also serves on a Columbus committee advocating to keep MSMS at The W, told The Dispatch last week MUW is a better home for the high school when it comes to safety.
“I maintain that a large SEC institution is not a place … for 11th and 12th graders on a campus,” Hairston said. “It’s not, even though there may be answers to how they can keep it safe, how they could do this, that or the other to mitigate the issues of having fraternity houses right within a short walk … from 11th and 12th graders on SEC ball game weekends.”
MSU reported an enrollment of 23,150 students in fall 2024, more than 10 times the 2,193 enrolled at MUW. Not only did MSU post the higher number of total crime reports, its rate per 1,000 students in several crime categories – such as rape, stalking and robberies – outpaced that of The W.
But that does not mean the Starkville campus is not safe, Thomas Bourgeois, associate vice provost for student success and dean of students, told The Dispatch on Wednesday. He noted the university’s open campus has a 24-hour police force, K-9 unit and SWAT unit.
“If you look at our contemporaries, we’re one of the safest campuses in the country,” he said. “But crime does happen here. I think that’s part of going out four years from now or two years from now when they graduate and go out into the world, learning how to exist in an environment (and make) good decisions.”
In a statement to The Dispatch, MUW President Nora Miller said the university is equipped to continue providing a safe environment for MSMS students. Officers from the campus police department patrol the campus 24 hours a day.
“Our campus’s manageable size minimizes social safety risks, and our police are familiar with MSMS and W students, which fosters strong connections on campus,” she said.
Crime by the numbers
The Cleary Act requires degree-granting postsecondary institutions like MSU and MUW to disclose how often certain crimes – like rape, murder, robbery and others – are reported on campus and in residence halls. Cleary Act data represents reported incidents, not necessarily arrests or convictions.
Based on annual security and fire safety reports, MUW has generally had fewer reports of most Cleary crimes, aside from burglaries and aggravated assaults.
The W had 14 burglaries and one aggravated assault reported on campus from 2021 to 2023 while only 12 instances of burglary and no aggravated assaults were reported at MSU in the same timeframe. The majority of the burglaries were reported in 2022 and attributed to an individual “walking by vehicles and pulling on door handles,” according to a safety bulletin from The W Police Department.
That equates to 6.38 burglaries reported for every 1,000 students on The W campus compared to less than one reported per every 1,000 students on MSU’s campus during the three-year period.
MSU reported a higher number of all other crimes classified by the Cleary Act, with rapes and fondling incidents being reported most frequently.
From 2021 to 2023, MSU’s annual security and fire safety report showed there were 2.63 rapes and 1.51 fondling incidents reported for every 1,000 students. That rate represents a total of 61 reported rapes over the course of the three year period at MSU. MUW had one rape reported in the same timeframe.
There were 2.33 instances of stalking reported for every 1,000 students at MSU in the 2021 to 2023 timeframe as well as 2.20 reports of dating violence for every 1,000 students. MUW had no on-campus reports of dating violence or stalking from 2021 to 2023.
Peer comparison for MSU
Among similar-sized universities in Mississippi, MSU’s Cleary statistics stack up more favorably.
University of Mississippi, which enrolled 23,981 in fall 2024, disclosed 40 rapes were reported from 2021 to 2023 or 1.66 rapes reported for every 1,000 students.
There were eight incidents of fondling reported in that period or 0.33 reported per every 1,000 students at Ole Miss. The university had 48 stalking incidents reported over the three years, about two reported for every 1,000 students; 15 burglaries reported or 0.62 for every 1,000 students; and two aggravated assault reports or 0.08 for every 1,000 students.
University of Southern Mississippi, with a fall 2024 enrollment of 13,170, disclosed five reported rapes between 2021 and 2023 or 0.37 reported per every 1,000 students. There were no stalking or fondling incidents reported. There were six aggravated assaults reported on the USM campus in that timeframe or 0.45 reported for every 1,000 students. The university disclosed nine reports of burglaries on campus, which is 0.68 reported for every 1,000 students.
Adjusting security
Making adjustments with security if MSMS was relocated to Starkville would be familiar for the university, which already houses Partnership Middle School on the campus, Bourgeois said.
“Not that we’re not concerned when these things happen, because we’re always looking at it, but since we already have a school on campus, we’re pretty familiar with what we do there,” he said. “We’re just going to have to scale up that plan to specifically deal with this new population.”
Bourgeois said changes in patrols could be considered to enhance safety, especially with the added factor of a residential facility for the high schoolers.
“Of course, you have juveniles, which is a whole different ball game,” he said. “So we’ll do a lot more with parents about how this happens.”
Miller said the size of the MUW campus and features like a perimeter gate ensure students are safe on campus, and when there is an emergency, the small size of the campus makes it easy for police to respond quickly and efficiently.
“The W’s smaller campus and close-knit environment provide a greater benefit to MSMS, offering students access to a college campus,” she said.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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