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Introduction of firearms on university
campuses
By Cliff Walsh
CHIEF OF POLICE
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO
Reports of violence involving firearms on universities across our nation have raised a discussion about private citizens carrying guns on our campuses and into our classrooms.
Carrying firearms onto a university campus and into the halls of learning, teaching and research is contrary to the fundamental philosophical cornerstone of higher education institutions and would increase the number and nature of hazards which law enforcement must address.
Those who support legislative and policy change to permit firearms on campus often cite as their rationale the ready availability of a firearm to react to a threat against life.
If you advocate for firearms on campus, share these questions with your university community and listen to the responses:
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When engaged in a spirited discussion on campus or in class, would you feel comfortable with your adversary carrying a weapon?
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As a faculty or staff member, are you comfortable knowing your students may be armed?
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Should an incident take place, how are police to distinguish between the perpetrator and an innocent armed person?
These basic questions introduce a host of safety concerns and issues that clearly expand the dimensions of the firearms-on-campus discussion. Colleges and universities provide a venue for professors, students and others to actively engage in free speech and express their creative views, however unpopular, in classrooms and other settings. The nature and character of activities that take place on campuses across the country are the very reason why firearms should continue to be prohibited. Students from around the world attend colleges and universities in our country because the United States offers premier educational opportunities in an environment that truly promotes creative and dynamic intellectual discussion.
Tragic events that take place in colleges and universities often elicit strong emotional reactions in the form of a call-to-action by many who are truly concerned and feel a sincere need to find a solution that protects our campuses.
Though this is an understandable response to tragedy, campus public safety leaders should promote safety and security through a rational, reasoned, well-thought-out approach. This approach should balance campus safety with the importance of an open and dynamic learning environment. All this should be done without additional worries about well-intentioned, but armed individuals who may, in and of themselves, present additional hazards and dangers.
As protectors of university campuses, we should not permit the degradation of this delicate crucible of research, knowledge, learning and development. To permit firearms on campus introduces a new paradigm. In this paradigm, campuses begin to take on a fortress-like mentality which ultimately impacts the quality of learning and scientific development, the results of which are shared by many around the world.
Introduction of firearms into a campus by students, staff, faculty or visitors creates a significant shift in the culture and dynamics within higher education institutions. The safety and security of a campus setting is paramount to learning and can be achieved through a thoughtful, rational and reasoned approach, absent the need for introduction of firearms into the campus or classroom.
Clifton Walsh is chief of police at the University of Texas at El Paso. A veteran of the El Paso Police Department, Walsh holds a master�s in business administration from Webster University and a bachelor�s in management from Park University.
Walsh has more than 25 years in law enforcement and has spent time in the classroom as an instructor at El Paso Community College, Webster University and Park University.
Walsh is a member of ASIS International, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Rio Grande Council of Governments� Criminal Justice Advisory Committee. He is also an executive board member for the Texas Police Association.
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