At 10:57 p.m. on March 27, a suspicious male was spotted on sorority row on the Mississippi State University campus. According to witnesses, the male drove a black Maserati, a vehicle not common in the city of Starkville.
Kendall Robinson, freshman biological sciences major, said she and her sorority sisters were alarmed by the peculiar male, and they notified each other to be careful.
“Supposedly he had tried to rush and leave and he was really creepy and he got black listed,” Kendall said. “Supposedly he was parked outside Pi Phi, and he was taking pictures.”
 
Other witnesses said the male asked them to participate in drug usage and to join him at a hotel.
Witnesses and those emotionally affected by the suspicious male said it would have been nice to receive a Maroon Alert about the suspicious individual to make everyone make aware.
Vince Nathaniel, junior electrical engineering major, said when he heard about the suspicious male, he felt a Maroon Alert would have been necessary.
“At least let the student body know about the situation,” Nathaniel said. “A simple Maroon Alert would have done nothing but raised awareness to students and those on campus to be careful at least. It wouldn’t hurt to at least know what’s going on or if we need to take precaution. You never know what could happen.”
Sid Salter, MSU’s chief communications officer, said the MSU Police Department received the report of a suspicious person on sorority row and responded, but did not find anyone on campus.
“A person was later interviewed by the Starkville Police Department in the city, and it was determined that the individual was not a threat,” Salter said. “The MSU Police Department responds whenever a student feels uncomfortable and responds accordingly.”
According to Salter, a Maroon Alert is only issued in the case of an immediate threat to the safety of students and employees on the campus of the university.
“The university would not issue a Maroon Alert for the threat of a suspicious person,” Salter said. “Every police venue gets a report of what goes on. MSU Police Department checked out what happened, and it was determined that the individual was not a threat.”
Salter said the complaint of the suspicious male was taken seriously, but there are standard procedures to be followed regarding the release of the individual’s personal information.
“We cannot give his name,” Salter said. “The only time the university releases a name is if there is an arrest or law enforcement accident.”