Following the shooting death of Kennesaw State freshman engineering student Oluwafemi Oyerinde Sunday, Oct. 6, at the Stadium Village apartment complex, some Stadium Village residents have raised concerns over the complex’s safety.
Many students are trying to sublease their Stadium Village apartments due to concerns with safety in their housing, senior psychology major Briana Nixon said.
Nixon said that one safety issue is the gate to get into the apartments, stating that it breaks often.
“The gate will be broken, then be fixed, then be broken again,” Nixon said. “The longest period of time it was broken for was around three to four months.”
The gate has been broken six times since August 2018, Nixon said.
A lack of security officers has also been cited as a concern for Nixon. She said that only since Oyerinde’s death have Stadium Village security officers began enforcing safety at the complex.
“They have somebody at the gate that’s making sure the people that come in actually live at Stadium, but before then there was really no security,” Nixon said.
There have also been issues caused by visitors coming into Stadium Village and causing problems, according to Nixon.
To counter this and general safety concerns from its residents, Stadium Village distributed a letter to its residents Oct. 9, offering tips on how to stay safe and call the police if they witness any suspicious activity.
The letter sent out also reminded residents and their guests that they must have the proper credentials to enter the complex.
“Please remember, you must have a resident assigned access card and Stadium Village permit behind your rearview mirror in order to enter the property,” the letter said. “Please notify and remind your guests that any guests visiting the property must use the call box.”
Despite the Stadium Village policies, Nixon said that some residents of the complex do not necessarily adhere to them. At the same time, the policies are not administered well, she said.
“We don’t have 24-hour security,” Nixon said. “Of course, you expect [residents] to follow the guidelines, but some students don’t necessarily follow the policies and guidelines.”
Nixon believes that students at the nearby SOVA apartments have better security. She says that there are cameras in the buildings and security is constantly patrolling.
According to SOVA’s website, the apartment complex has 24/7 on-call management and service teams available to assist students. There are also security patrols from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Stadium Village’s website says that their apartment complex has full-time, on-site staff for property maintenance and emergency calls after-hours.
Nixon is currently trying to sublease her apartment, saying she does not feel comfortable living at Stadium Village.
“Usually, the only time people really leave is in December when people graduate,” Nixon said. “Nobody has really just left before. But if it had been like this when I was looking for apartments, I wouldn’t have chosen Stadium.”
Stadium Village did not respond to requests from the Sentinel in time for publication.