Morgan State alumni petition university over 2026 homecoming restrictions
Morgan State University is preparing to welcome thousands of students, alumni and visitors back to campus for its 2026 homecoming, but some alumni are pushing back against restrictions they say are changing one of the university's biggest traditions.
A petition is calling on Morgan State to reconsider several homecoming rules, including a 5 p.m. curfew for on-campus activities, restrictions on alcohol in tailgate tents and rising costs associated with Tent City.
Changes to Tent City
Tent City has long served as a gathering place for generations of Morgan State alumni, students, family and friends during homecoming.
"There's some new restrictions that put a cloud over all of Tent City, and the alumni [are] feeling it," said Morgan State alumna Shane Alleyne.
"If we have to be off by 5, we have to start shutting down and cleaning up, because just as it's a big production to get started, it's a big production to break down," Alleyne added. "All of the time that we would have traditionally to connect and hug, and all of those things, that's lost."
Homecoming restrictions follow years of safety concerns
The tighter restrictions follow several years of heightened safety concerns surrounding homecoming events.
In 2023, Morgan State canceled its remaining homecoming activities after five people, including four students, were shot on campus.
The following year, Morgan State President David Wilson increased security measures surrounding the celebration.
In 2025, the university implemented the 5 p.m. curfew that shut down on-campus activities and gatherings.
Homecoming attendance drops
According to numbers provided by Morgan State, an estimated 40,000 to 45,000 people attended homecoming in 2024. That number dropped to about 35,000 in 2025.
"People are gonna say, 'Well, I'll just go to GHOE, or I'll go to Howard, or Hampton,'" Alleyne said. "We're already losing it, and I think that is my biggest fear."
Alumni petition calls for change
Alleyne is part of Ponderosa, one of the alumni groups that gathers each year at Tent City.
"One of us is the granddaughter of a Morgan State graduate from the 1940s. I currently have a nephew that's matriculating at Morgan, so we are decades of Morgan State tradition and legacy," Alleyne said.
Alleyne started a petition asking university leaders to reconsider some of the restrictions.
"We, Ponderosa, as well as the other thousand signatures, we were hoping for some additional balance," Alleyne said.
"In addition to the curfew, now we have this new restriction, where no alcohol is allowed in the tents," she said.
Those behind the petition say they are not asking Morgan State to eliminate security measures. Instead, they are asking the university to extend the 5 p.m. curfew, reconsider restrictions on alcohol in tailgate tents and provide relief from rising tent costs.
"I guarantee it was under $1,000 when we probably started. Now it's $1,500, so you're paying more but you're getting less of everything, and so that is where I think you've seen this pushback," Alleyne said.
Morgan State says 2026 protocols will remain
Wilson addressed alumni concerns in a letter this week.
Despite the petition, Wilson said the university's 2026 homecoming protocols will remain in place. However, alumni will have an opportunity to provide input when Morgan State reviews its homecoming plans for next year.
"I do have hope for next year, and maybe we can find balance," Alleyne said.
