The Undergraduate Student Government at the University of Minnesota launched a door locking petition Tuesday, calling for every instructional space to be securely locked from inside to help protect students, staff and faculty.

The University is in the planning stages of installing locking mechanisms on all classroom doors. Though it can refer to different kinds of locks, in this case, door locking mechanisms refer to locks that lock from the inside of classrooms.

The University Department of Public Safety is in the planning stages and is working to identify the scope and cost of such a project, according to a University spokesperson.

USG’s petition aims to secure a formal commitment from University administration that locking mechanisms will be installed in all instructional spaces in the event of an active threat situation, according to USG Chair of campus safety specialized committee Jacob Richter.

Richter said USG was inspired to launch the petition after the shooting at Florida State University in April. After the shooting, FSU students organized a petition signed by almost 32,000 people calling for working locks on all classroom doors.

There have been eight school shootings in the U.S. in 2025 so far. Four were on college campuses and four were on K-12 school grounds.

In USG’s fall survey, nearly 60% of student respondents said they were not aware of proper procedures to follow during an active threat situation. 85% of students said the University could do more to equip students with the necessary knowledge to respond to an active threat situation.

“This is a really big problem, and we are addressing this as their student government leaders, because it’s a project that could potentially save lives, even though we really hope these door locking mechanisms would never even have to be used,” Richter said.

Richter said he has been really appreciative of the University’s willingness to collaborate with USG.

According to Richter, door locking mechanisms are a big necessity on campus because many classrooms have furniture bolted to the ground, creating an inability to barricade doors in an emergency situation.

“We want to make sure from day one, students are going into classrooms protected, and that we don’t need some sort of shooting or threat to happen on campus before we can finally get what we needed in the first place,” Richter said.

Before action can be taken, USG is waiting on the University to finalize its budget, according to Richter.

USG is exploring two potential solutions, Richter said. The first option involves installing a button on U Card–access doors that, when pressed, would lock the door and restrict entry to a small, authorized group.

The second option involves a thumb-turn device, a fully analog system that can be installed on either U card-access doors or traditional key-operated doors, according to Richter. The user would manually turn the lock to secure the door from the inside, preventing access from the outside and the system could work on both modern and older door types.

“We’re not exactly sure you know what solution would be pursued by the University, I think that depends on cost and how far they want to go with this,” Richter said. “Either solution is better than having nothing.”

Richter said students should only have to worry about going to class and learning. 

“Students should be able to focus on their essential mission, which is getting an education without having to worry about being shot in their classrooms,” Richter said.