The Online Reflector

By Manny Casillas | Editorial Assitant

As recently as this month, a group of Ball State University students expressed their desire to be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus grounds. It’s a debate that has carried over into all parts of the nation, in light of the violent events at Virginia Tech University, and Indiana is no exception.

The pro-concealed weapons side of the argument cites incidents at schools like Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University as impetus for a policy that would make it permissible for any student and faculty member to carry a concealed weapon.
Fifteen states, including Indiana, defeated bills this year that would allow for such a policy. The only state in the country that has adopted such a policy is Utah.

According to Mick Reddick, chief of police and director of campus safety, the idea of a policy allowing concealed weapons isn’t something that the school is getting on board with.

“Safety is a huge, but were an incident to occur and there are many on campus with guns, it complicates things for us [campus police] because we don’t know who does or does not have a weapon,” Reddick said.

One reason for Indiana defeating a bill that would validate a concealed weapon policy is the fact that in Indiana, gun access is rather easily attained.

According to an article from a local Indiana news site, (www.thestarpress.com) a fee for a gun permit is around $100 and gun owners are not required to be trained in the use of any weapons they purchase. Indiana law can deny gun permits on the basis of felony charges and mental instability, however.

Overall, as evident by the many states that have defeated bills calling for the ability to carry concealed weapons on campuses, university officials see the idea as a detriment.

“From a university perspective and from different conferences I’ve been into it has definitely been a big topic. But it would not be a good idea, especially from a police perspective,” said Kory Vitangeli, dean of students.

UIndy does take steps to ensure the prevention of incidents like those at Virginia Tech from occurring here, but at the same time the university has to be vigilant about safety issues unique to the campus, such as the safety of Hanna Avenue.

“There isn’t a campus out there that is not evaluating the safety of its campus,” Vitangeli said.

Whether the debate over the practicality of allowing students and faculty members to carry concealed weapons on campuses will be silenced by the defeat of such bills is yet to be determined.

“There are waves, there are always going to be waves, if another incident were to happen anywhere it always brings the issue to the surface,” Vitangeli said. “Regardless of whether an incident were happening, we’re still greatly concerned about safety.”