Don’t Mess With Texas
By: Wensley Guthrie
The famous saying “don’t mess with Texas,” was recently
taken to a whole new level on Aug. 1st, 2016 after the Texas SenateBill 11 was put into effect on Texas State campus. The bill allows students and
faculty alike that are 21 and over, with concealed carry permits, to bring
small firearms to public universities. As always with such a controversial
topic the, university is rife with a multitude of mixed feelings and opinions.
The new law has a fair amount of pro’s and con’s, but when
it comes down to it most can say that if a terrorist situation were to arise
and an individual putting the campus carry law to use were able to save their
lives they would be pretty grateful. Texas State graduate, Lowell Bundick,
voices this point very clearly. “Say, if there’s a terrorist attack and someone
starts shooting, if someone else does have their gun on them, it would be a
little easier to eliminate the threat rather than waiting for police to come in
and handle the situation when it may end more poorly and have a higher body
count when we’re waiting. Just think of all the other shootings that have
happened, such as the Pulse shooting. All of those people, all 49 of them,
they’re just gone. They could have been able to eliminate the threat quicker.”
Although with an interesting contrary opinion from Kenneth
Holmes, a mass comm major at the university, we have a different perspective on
what we just perceived on previous sound logic. “They are saying by giving you
the ability to carry on campus that if anything bad happens you have the
ability to take care of it and its kinda giving you the permission to handle a
gunman situation when you are not properly trained to do so. Even if you are
trained to handle a killer.”
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| Kerri Fitzgerald Photo by: Stacee Collins |
Besides the obvious topic of physical safety, some
professors are concerned about how the presence of guns on campus will affect
the learning environment. One said professor in the English department, Keri
Fitzgerald, is concerned with the “potential it has to restrict academic
freedom.” If you think about it there is a really good point to be had! What if
students are more timid to share their opinions in class for fear of an
irrational firearm wielder? The fear of the unknown always sets people on edge.
Even Collins has a concern for herself, saying “I have to grade people that
have guns.”
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| Mason Gann Photo by: Dana Rosenquist |
When asking for opinions on other alternatives ways to have
a stronger sense of protection on campus, senior Roy Smith feels that “having
an increased police presence on campus would be a better alternative.” Which
does make sense when you picture how you would feel seeing police stationed
around campus bearing arms. There are many out there who have not given up hope
in the law being overturned or reversed one day.
Since the law is still in place though, Student Mason Gann
thinks it wise to remind people that those “who have concealed carry license
have to go through training to get it.” Which is a mature and observant point
to make, considering the fact that the main idea and fear is revolving around
the idea that maniacal and irresponsible people are on the loose with guns. And
that is most certainly not the case!
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| Natalia Glenn Photo by: Lauren Valencia |
Its wise in general though to always remember to be aware of
your surroundings and notice anything that seems out of place. Which is exactly
what Natalia Glenn, a business major does.
“Sometimes I get weird vibes from people and the fact that they are
allowed to carry a weapon with them scares me. I’m in the business college and
a lot of these students aren’t very expressive. You never know what’s going on
in their mind,” Glenn candidly shares with us.
In short, there are definitely pro’s, con’s, agreements and
suspicions centered around this bill. But with that comes new ideas about how
to adjust our lifestyle and way of thinking, and being open to the idea that
there are others out their with different opinions, which a good thing in mind.
One thing is for sure though, potential ill willed gunmen will think twice
before messing with Texas and its college students!
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