Southern University Shakes Up College Scene: Record Enrollment, New President & Game-Day Buzz

BATON ROUGE, La. — Southern University and A&M College placed its entire Baton Rouge campus under lockdown Thursday morning after administrators said they received “a potential threat to campus security.” Students, faculty, staff and visitors were ordered to shelter in place while police swept the main campus, the Southern University Law Center, the Agricultural Research and Extension Center and the Southern University Laboratory School. University officials have not disclosed the nature of the threat, citing an active investigation, but urged anyone on or near campus who notices suspicious activity to dial 911 immediately. As of noon, no injuries had been reported and no suspect description had been released. The incident comes amid a string of threats aimed at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) nationwide. On the same morning, Hampton University in Virginia, Alabama State University and Virginia State University also received threats and implemented precautionary lockdowns, according to school statements. Law-enforcement agencies—including the FBI’s New Orleans Field Office—are working with Southern University Police to determine whether the threats are connected. “Out of an abundance of caution, all academic activities are paused until further notice,” Southern University Chancellor Dennis J. Shields said in a campus-wide email. “Our first priority is the safety of our Jaguar family.” Parents flooded the university’s social-media channels seeking updates, while some students reported barricading classroom doors. Senior biology major Ayanna Jefferson told local TV station WBRZ she and classmates were “staying calm, monitoring official alerts and checking on friends.” Southern University, founded in 1880 and the only HBCU system in the United States, enrolls roughly 8,300 students on its Baton Rouge flagship. The campus spans the Mississippi River bluff just north of downtown, making traffic restrictions necessary as police secured entrances and exits. Baton Rouge residents were advised to avoid the Scenic Highway corridor until authorities lift the lockdown. This morning’s threat echoes a wave of more than 50 bomb and shooter hoaxes that disrupted HBCU campuses in 2022. The U.S. Department of Justice later charged a series of juvenile suspects, but officials warned that copycat threats could continue. Higher-education safety experts say institutions have improved real-time alert systems and lockdown protocols since those earlier incidents. Southern University’s JagSafe app pushed emergency notifications within minutes today, and digital message boards across campus displayed shelter-in-place instructions, according to eyewitnesses. The university will determine whether afternoon classes, tonight’s athletic practices and Saturday’s home football game against Alabama A&M will proceed once law enforcement gives the all-clear. Students who need counseling services can contact the University Counseling Center, which expanded virtual appointments after recent threats to HBCUs. Louisiana Governor Sharon Weston Broome said in a statement that state police “stand ready to support campus and local law enforcement” and reiterated her administration’s commitment to protecting students at all Louisiana colleges. This is a developing story; check back for updates as more information becomes available.