For every 1000 students there are 2.3 officers, the officers can not be there for every act of violence, so therefore weapons would help a person defend themselves (Arrigo, 2016). The US Department of Education reported 17 murders, 2590 forcible sex offenses, and several aggravated assaults and robberies on university campuses across the country, although leadership has implemented law enforcement, these numbers are still extremely high (Arrigo, 2016). Leadership has taken every precaution necessary to ensure a safe environment for students to learn, however, there are still many incidents that could have possibly been avoided. Open carry will hopefully reduce these numbers. UT Tyler has finalized their policies on open carry effective August 1, 2016. They will develop a training and education programs about the law and basic requirements regarding campus carry (Buchanan, 2016). Leadership has already put together a group of diverse students to gather input and develop the guidelines needed to ensure the safety of students, administration, and professors (Buchanan, 2016).
In the article “How Guns on Campus Could Change What Texas Teaches,” it talks about how professors as well as administrators are going to handle this issue. One of the main points in this article is trying to figure out how to handle teaching a class full of …show more content…
Hilary Hart stated “I know the faculty are disappointed that concealed handguns will be allowed in classrooms, but I think everyone realized that banning them would have effectively meant you couldn't carry guns on campus” (Mangan, 2016). The University president put together a panel called Campus Carry Policy Working Group which consisted of 19 members of the faculty, staff, and students in order to address issues, and assist them on making reasonable rules and regulations regarding this matter (Mangan, 2016). This group used a qualitative method of research which consisted of 3 months worth of studies, collected thousands of comments from both sides, and two public meetings. Even though the panel did not like the idea or agree with open carry their hands were tied, and they had to obey the law. They decided the weapons had to be on them in a holster at all times, even when in students backpacks, or locked in their vehicle. There holsters had to be one that protected the trigger and the trigger guard, to prevent accidental discharge. If a weapon is holstered it is harder to just walk up and take it, because it has to be pushed down and turned a certain way in order for it to come out of the holster. They put these rules in place to ensure the safety of other students, the faculty, and the staff, as well as to prevent theft. This committee