Tagged: URI

Rhode Island has lifted a ban on armed police forces at state colleges, after a Board of Education vote last night. The board’s new policy allows each state institution to make the decision about whether campus police officers will carry guns.

There is still no word from a University of Rhode Island student who’s been missing since Thursday.

21-year-old Matthew Royer was last seen leaving his apartment in Rhode Island on Thursday, he was heading back home to southeastern PA where he was supposed to start a job on Friday.

URI officials say the university reached out to Royer’s family on Saturday.

Governor Lincoln Chafee says he’s relieved and grateful that no one was seriously injured yesterday at the University, where a report of an active shooter on campus proved to be unfounded. The campus was on lockdown for about two-and-a-half hours.

The governor said in a statement the state will review what happened. He said the incident provides a unique opportunity to review emergency operations and  how the situation was handled.

The University of Rhode Island says it’s seeing a record number of applications for the Fall 2013 semester.  University officials believe their marketing efforts are paying off.

Close to 21,000 students have applied for admission to URI for next fall.  Roughly 75 percent will be admitted so that the university has its desired freshman class of 3,100 even after students who have been admitted decide to go elsewhere.

URI Admissions Dean Cynthia Bonn believes the interest in attending URI is a direct result of their outreach efforts.