Security concerns occur outside High Point University gates

By Megan Hovey

Q News

Brooke Green pulled into the Target parking lot at 1050 Mall Loop Road in High Point, North Carolina on Jan. 26, unsure if she should go inside.

“I needed stuff,” she said. “What are the chances of something happening to me on a Tuesday at noon?”

Green, a junior at High Point University, mustered up the courage to enter the store, where she began to feel that someone was watching her.

After turning around, she noticed a man holding his smartphone near his genital area. The rear-facing camera was pointed at her, his fingers not covering the lens.

Green immediately felt uncomfortable. “That’s not how you hold a phone,” she said.

She began heading toward the exit of the store, abandoning everything on her shopping list besides water.

After returning to campus, Green began to process the incident.

“That’s when I started feeling kind of gross,” she said. “If he was videotaping me, what is he going to do with that?”

Green is not alone. Over the past month, numerous HPU students have been experiencing security issues while off campus, including distraction tactics, potential unauthorized filming and lacing of drinks.

On Jan. 23, a parent wrote on the “HPU Parents” Facebook page about an incident involving her daughter at the same Target where Green felt she was filmed.

“When she got to her car, there was a note card placed behind her door handle that said ‘SOLVE ME’,” the post read. “What these horrible people hope you will do is stand there and look at the card and before you know it, they’ve got you.”

The parent did not respond to a request for comment.

A GroupMe screenshot was posted to Instagram on Feb. 2 regarding female HPU students who found cameras in the bathroom at a local restaurant and reported that their drinks were laced with drugs.

The High Point Police Department is investigating the incident and those affected are unable to comment, according to a student who wishes to remain anonymous.

Derek Stafford, Interim Director of Security and Transportation at HPU, said that HPU security officers primarily remain on campus.

“High Point University has High Point Police Department officers available on campus as a resource for the campus community,” he said.

Officer Jeff Boyd, who works in the Community Outreach Office at the High Point Police Department, said that students should understand the geographic locations of where they’re going while off campus.

He also believes that utilizing the panic button on a key fob could keep students safe if they feel threatened.

“The button will make noise, and that’s going to be a distraction,” he said. “It’s going to bring attention to that person, and that’s the last thing they need.”

Kisha Yokeley, who works at the Special Victims Unit out of the Family Justice Center in High Point, believes that asking for help can keep students safe.

“When you go to the store or certain places, especially if it’s late at night, take someone with you if they’re available or have a ‘check-in’ person,” Yokeley said.

If Green was in a similar situation again, she said that she would have gone to a Target associate.

“They have one standing there at self-checkout or if you don’t want to make a scene, go check out with an employee and whisper to them, ‘Can someone walk me to my car?’,” she said.

Green also ordered a self-defense keychain off of a business she found on TikTok after the incident.

If a student feels that they are in immediate danger while in the community, they should call 911.

If a student would like to report a suspicious person after returning to campus, they should call the High Point Police Department’s non-emergency number at 336-883-3224 and prepare to provide as many details as possible.

According to the North Carolina Department of Administration, North Carolina was ranked No. 11 among all 50 states in terms of reported cases of human trafficking.

Interstate highways, lots of rural areas with demand for cheap labor and a large military population surrounded by sexually oriented businesses make the state a “hotbed” for human trafficking (“Human Trafficking in North Carolina”).