Safety on campus: Orangeburg to give portion of Goff Ave. to Claflin

Claflin has been asking the city to restrict public access to the road to address security concerns since 2022.

Council gave first reading approval to a plan transferring ownership of a portion of the road to the university at Tuesday’s meeting.

Speeding cars and gun violence have been an issue on Goff Avenue for some time and the problem is getting worse, Claflin President Dr. Dwaun Warmack told council.

There have been multiple near-deaths, he said.

“It’s not if something happens, it is when something happens,” Warmack said. “I just hope that we can be proactive in this space to make the right decisions.”

Claflin Department of Public Safety Chief Melvin Williams showed security camera footage from a Feb. 18 shooting incident that occurred on Goff Avenue. In the video, two men fired 17 rounds from a moving car as several students walked nearby.

Williams also showed photographs of bullet holes found in windows of the nearby science building the next day.

“Thank God the person shooting didn’t know how to shoot,” Warmack said. “If we’re not careful, we’ll be here having a different conversation later.”

Claflin police believe the individuals in the car were not students, Williams said.

“That is part of a continuing narrative, a continuing story, that individuals are driving in and then they jump into cars and then take off,” he said.

Council members appeared disturbed by the video.

“We don’t have the power to eliminate all these types of things from happening, but I think we can control it,” Williams said. “I think we can reduce it.”

Warmack and Williams both thanked Orangeburg’s Department of Public Safety for responding to cases on Goff Avenue, but said the complexities of a state road running through campus have put campus police in a compromised position.

The university recently hosted a town hall where students and parents discussed the issue for two hours, Warmack said. Several Claflin students attended the council meeting.

Parents have said, “they don’t want their kids to come back to Orangeburg if we can’t find a way to have a solution that’s there,” he said.

The proposal approved by council Tuesday would give Claflin ownership of Goff Avenue from Magnolia to Clark streets. This portion of the road runs through Clalfin’s campus, separating the student health center and Tullis Arena from the rest of campus.

The stretch of road is the main crossing point for students coming to and from the newly constructed student center, Warmack said.

Warmack told council the university will also be building a new nursing building by the student health center on the portion of Goff Avenue they want transferred to Claflin.

The city had previously hoped to close the road through court action, but has since decided transferring ownership of a portion of the road to Claflin – that can then close or restrict traffic at its discretion – is a faster and more efficient way to address the problem, City Administrator Sidney Evering said.

The state transferred ownership of the road to the city about a year ago after, Evering said. This allows the city to transfer the property to the university, if council votes to do so.

Warmack declined to share specific plans for the road until the proposal is further along in the approval process, but he told council there would still be automobile access to Goff Avenue.

The university could install gates allowing drivers with stickers to drive through, he said.

“We’re just trying to stop traffic,” he said. “Goff Street after 6 p.m. is a totally different place.”

Two residential properties not owned by the university stand on the portion of Goff Avenue the university hopes to close.

An owner of one of those properties resisted the proposal when it was initially put forward, but the university has not been in contact with the owner in several months, Warmack said. The property in question has remained vacant for around 18 months, he said.

Mayor Michael Butler said the owners of the two properties do not live there.

Former councilmember Bernard Haire – who represented the neighborhood before his retirement – held several meetings with representatives and students from Claflin and South Carolina State University, Warmack said.

The owners of the two properties did not attend despite invitations, he said. The properties have been vacant for several years and have provided access for illegal activity on both Claflin and S.C. State’s campuses, he claimed.

University officials previously said Goff Avenue residents would still have access to their property.

The closing of the road does not change the university’s commitment to being part of the community, Warmack said. He cited Claflin’s investment in the Railroad Corner redevelopment project and willingness to take on the maintenance of Goff Avenue.

The university plans to expand further down Goff Avenue in the future, but is focused on addressing the safety issues on the stretch between Magnolia and Clark first, he said.

Councilmember Annette Dees Grievous, a professor of speech and drama at Claflin, recused herself from voting on the proposal to avoid a conflict of interest. She will continue to do so during future votes, she said.

The vote was unanimous, with Grevious abstaining. The proposal will require two more votes of approval before being enacted.