For years, people have valued their personal space and privacy, either in their homes or on a school campus. However, in a short time things have drastically changed on school campuses around the country, due to the unfortunate fact that deadly events have been occurring more often throughout the past years. The types of devastating tragedies are a result of more people and students being granted access to weapons that can potentially inflict harm on others. For example many small weapons can be easily hidden and go unnoticeable as a student commutes freely through campus. Guns and knives are effortlessly concealed under clothes. In some cases this can lead to a devastating, and deadly incident due to the fact that students are not searched by faculty member on campus. To prevent shocking casualties on college grounds teacher and faculty member have the right to search anyone, if they have a suspicion that they may be concealing a dangerous weapon that could potentially harm and injure others. For generations people have hungered for higher academic success, and feel they can achieve this safely in a nonviolent college environment. However, times may have changed drastically, from a time where it was safe to learn in a classroom and not have to worry about the safety of oneself or fellow classmates. Over the past years, receiving a college degree has become more of a deadly risk. Due to the fact that people are strolling on college campuses with malicious intent, of inflicting bodily harm on other students with small weapons they have hidden on themselves. Dangerous weapons, such as guns and knives can be easily hidden under a perpetrator’s clothes and become invisible to college faculty and other students. Although, campus life ... ... middle of paper ... ...t an education without a fear of losing their life. We need to ensure that students and faculty are safe while either learning new skills to better their life, or helping others achieve higher education. Taking drastic measures of enforcing that there is a no tolerance policy of guns on campus, then and only then will people be able to sit inside a classroom without looking over their shoulder, and wonder if they are safe from a college shooting disaster. Furthermore, by ensuring safety it will also prevent another deadly college massacre, such as the massive shooting in 2007 at Virginia Technical Institute. As a result by being able to pat down and search suspicious persons that may be armed and dangerous would not only keep college campuses safe, but the entire community safe also. This will prevent heartbreak and devastation, and an untimely deadly tragedy.
In “Stop Worrying About Guns in the Classroom. They’re Already here.” the author, Erik Gilbert, argues in favor of the law allowing the concealed carry of firearms in college campuses. Gilbert claims that it’s futile to be “worried by the prospect of having guns in [the] classroom” because he believes that even before the bill was passed, some students and faculty were already carrying firearms to campus (Gilbert). Furthermore, he insinuates that despite the presence of firearms, there were no incidents of student or faculty causing harm. To support his argument, the author provides incidents which have occurred over the last decade at his campus, such as accidental discharge of guns in dorms, firearms in student’s vehicles, and one faculty member who was discovered to be in possession of a gun in an on-campus facility. Considering these incidents and previous knowledge of “prevailing regional attitudes towards guns”, the author assumes that significant numbers of students, and possibly faculty, bring guns on campus regularly (Gilbert). As for those who are afraid due to the new law, he declares to them that firearm permit-holders are not dangerous by comparing the rate of their crimes to that of police officers. He also reasons that permit holders need to be at least 21 to qualify—claiming that the more mature students qualify—and have background checks performed.
People who disagree with me think that there should be concealed gun carry on college campuses because it will make the students safer in a risky situation by making the students able to shoot down and stop the shooter. Students for Concealed Carry, an organization for concealed gun carry on campus, say, “The crux of the SGFS essay is the undeniable fact that college campuses typically have lower crime rates than the cities in which they reside” (642). In “Why Our Campuses Are Safer Without Concealed Handguns”, an article against concealed handgun carry, states that, “Our colleges and universities are safe sanctuaries for learning.” (633).
... a high school student, I don’t take much stock in the safety codes and drills in place to keep students safe in the event of a shooting. I would feel much safer knowing my teacher has the ability to protect the class, rather than hide and lock the door. An educator is responsible for the students in their class. They are responsible for their education and their safety while the children are in their classroom. The safety of fifteen or more students would be much more easily secured by one person if that person was armed. Promoting teachers to arm themselves also prevents school shootings; criminals don’t attack a victim that can fight back. At least 60% of school attacks would be prevented with an armed faculty warning sign. School faculty members should be armed to secure the safety of the countries students, and in hand prevent the majority of potential shootings.
Secondly, some people believe guns should not be allowed on campus because they may go off by accident. True, a gun may go off by accident, but according to, Students for Concealed Carry, out of 150 college campuses that allow concealed carry, there have been only three accidental discharges (Common). Two of them were by staff and one by a student. All three of the accidental discharges resulted in non-life-threatening discharges in which no one was injured (Common). All three incidents could have been prevented through proper training and practice, such as wearing a
Lamorte explains how schools are trying to establish the “proper balance between an individual student’s right to Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and the duty of the school officials to provide all students with a safe and secure school environment” (Lamorte
Of all school shootings only 47 percent of them are on college campuses. The other 53 percent are in elementary through high school grade campuses. These numbers can be drastically cut back by allowing concealed and open carry on college campuses. Students should be allowed to open carry on campus because it increases the protection of both themselves and the public.
Guns should be banned from all college campuses nationwide. Many students, teachers, and college presidents strongly oppose hidden, loaded guns on campuses because it will lead to increased violence, accidental shootings, and the non-carrying public would feel unsafe around the carrying public. If all elementary to high schools have a strict ban on guns for their campuses, it seems logical to extend the ban up to higher education. Now that it is more common for students in high school to take dual classes on a college campus, extending would ensure safety of the minors. Guns have a purpose at other arenas, but on a campus that is intended for learning and education it would be best to keep
College campuses are more dangerous than ever because of the past decade; guns have not only been manufactured in excess, but availability and ease of accessibility. According to James Cool (2008), a supporter of guns on campus, reasoned why the increase of weapons occurred recently; “Our nation was founded … during the same time that modern firearms were invented and became readily available due to the Industr...
In light of recent acts of violence in the nation’s schools, school safety and security have become a hot topic. However, the issue of school safety goes beyond student violence. It includes property damage, theft, and anything else that concerns the overall well being of schools. While it is important to create a safe environment in schools it is also necessary to make sure students feel comfortable in this atmosphere. The security can not be so overbearing that it becomes a negative tactic that gets in the way of the students main objective, learning. Barely noticeable cameras, ID cards, and security guards without uniforms can help generate this safe, but comfortable learning environment. On the other hand metal detectors and mini police forces may be a little too reminiscent of George Orwell’s novel, 1984, or even modern prisons. School security should not be overbearing or obtrusive where it gets in the way of a comfortable environment that is conducive to learning in the nation’s schools.
Concealed weapons on college campuses have been a debatable issue for a long time now. “Statistically, colleges and universities are relatively safe environments for students, faculty, and administrators”, but will concealed carry affect this (Kirszner and Mandell, 626)?Supporters argue that being able to carry a concealed weapon lowers the percentage of shooting or accidents and that it is simply constitutional to have the right to bear arms. On the other hand, non-supporters believe that this will affect the way of learning in school, and raise anxiety. While it is true that having a concealed weapon can make the person holding it feel safe, we should not allow it because it may bring more negative rather than positive things into the college campuses.
Due to the recent disruption of violent crimes on campus, many citizens that are pro-gun activist have suggested that both the students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on school campuses. Those who are with guns allowed on school campuses claim that their rights have been violated for the reason that many college campuses refuse to allow weapons of any kind on their property. The Constitution of The United States of America already grants citizens the right to carry guns with them. It is not appropriate for guns to be in a vulnerable area such as a college campus or any University. There are already too many guns available to the public or easy to get any kind of gun, and allowing them on
The worst school massacre in the U.S. did not involve shooting, it was a bombing that killed over forty people. Allowing people to conceal carry is the correct solution for many reasons. During my first semester of college, I learned something very important in one of my political science classes. During a debate over allowing concealed carry on campuses, I learned the average response time of police is over nine minutes. The massacre will be over before the police even arrive on the scene.
In the past years, several schools and college campuses have suffered many shooting attacks, killing innocent people who just want to become professional and finish their careers. Those shooters have been caused by other students that might have personal or mental problems that make them think that they can solve their problems by shooting and killing people. This is why many people are arguing about the second amendment, if guns should be allowed on college campuses. Some arguments are: students are going to be more secure and they will be able to defend themselves in case that someone starts shooting. However, there is also a large amount of people who believe that if guns are allowed on college campuses there would be an increase of
According to the Uniform Crime Report, a violent crime occurs on an average of every twenty-six seconds in the United States (UCR, National Data). Young people, primarily between the ages of 17 and 19 and in their early twenties, commit the vast majority of crime (Barkan and Bryjak, 33). It is also common for individuals at this age to attend college. Based on the Uniform Crime Report (Table 9), twenty-four colleges and universities have increased enrollment rates from 2005 until 2012 in New York State alone. Despite the consistent increase in the number of individuals continuing their education, it appears that the amount of violent crime has decreased among college campuses. This contradicts the common crime myth that crime is increasing throughout the United States when in fact it is actually slightly decreasing or remaining constant. It is possible for the relationship between increasing enrollment rates and decreasing rates of violent crime to be explained by the common misconception that crime is actually decreasing. However, there is evidence that supports this inverse relationship is due to the underreporting of crime among college campuses, which often happens because the college doesn’t want to damage its reputation. As a result, they choose to deal with the crime themselves rather than getting the authorities involved.
There have been reports of increased violence on U.S. college campuses since the early 1980s. Alcohol-related problems have included vandalism, fighting, injuries, and rape. However, as in the past, crime on campuses frequently was not reported to authorities or not divulged by institutions. Therefore, it is difficult to know if there has been an increase in incidences or just increased reporting. Roark (1987: 367) has suggested that "although comparative data from previous years are difficult to obtain, it seems to many student affairs professionals that there is an increase in violence on campuses." One study reported that residence hall advisors mediated more physical confrontations between students in the mid-1980s compared to previous years. College campuses are communities populated with individuals at high risk for unintentional and violent injury, the vast majority of whom are single and experiencing freedom from home and parental supervision for the first time. Despite broad-based concern about violence on campus, accurate information about the scope and nature of this problem is hard to come by. Nevertheless, there is general agreement that since the 1960s crime and vio...