Texas students skeptical of new “campus carry” law
By
Ben McInnis
blm173@txstate.edu
Perhaps Texas law-makers pulled the trigger a little
too quickly on so-called “campus carry” legislation, as Texas University
students are still feeling uneasy about the law one year after it was passed.
With campus carry being implemented at Universities
across the state starting this August, many students are expressing concerns at
having loaded firearms in their midst.
This law has always had its critics but a flurry of
protests has brought new attention to the feelings of those most affected by it,
namely students and school faculty.
The University of Texas at Austin has seen the most
opposition to the law, and for good reason. In an awkward twist, the 50th
anniversary of the school’s most deadly mass shooting fell on the very day
campus carry was to take effect. Many student groups there, and even several
professors including Nobel Laureate and theoretical physicist Steven Weinberg
have taken a firm stance against guns being carried onto their campus.
Weinberg, who had a student storm out of his classroom
in anger over the topics being discussed, told the Texas Tribune that he doesn’t
feel such a law would be conducive to safety or learning. “I’m nervous about
guns, so they would affect my teaching.” he said.
Dissent has taken strange forms at UT, most notably
the proliferation of certain adult novelties by one student group. “Cocks not
Glocks” passed out almost five thousand sex toys to UT students and urged that
they be wielded on campus until the law is repealed. In an interview with the
Texas Tribune, UT alumna Jessica Jin explained why she created the movement. “As
long as you have a dick in your backpack, people will be thinking about the
guns in other peoples’ backpacks.” she said.
Here at Texas State, students are just as worried
about the implications of the new law. Some, like exercise sports science major
David Gonzalez, still don’t see the reasoning behind an armed student
population. “It doesn’t make any sense to me. I mean, why do they want to bring
their guns to school? Who are they going to shoot?” said Gonzalez.
Proponents of the law have argued that in the event of
a school shooting, students would be better able defend themselves if one of
them was armed. When presented with this question, Gonzalez dismissed it out of
hand. “I don’t think so,” he said. “If another person besides the shooter is shooting,
more people could get shot, especially in a small classroom”.
Other Texas State students are concerned that the
atmosphere created by the new law will make discussing controversial issues
much more dangerous. Students gather routinely on campus to hear speeches from fire-and-brimstone
preachers and anti-abortion activists, which often degrade into intense
shouting matches. Paula Krystal Monzon, a nursing major at Texas State, fears
that a harmless debate could turn deadly if firearms were present. “Anything
minor such as controversy in the quad can escalate quickly.” she said.
The result of
this seems to be an apprehension toward discussing topics that might provoke a
violent response from an armed student. Coincidentally, “Guidelines for Creating a Safe
Classroom Environment” published by Texas State University recommends just such
a course of action.
Many, like business major Mason Gann, feel that guns
being present in a classroom might take students’ minds off academics and
hinder learning. “It definitely changes the mood. It might distract them from
the lessons in the classroom.” he said.
Political science major Darius Wiley Jr. echoed this
view. “Guns shouldn’t be permitted because having a constant fear that someone
has a gun isn’t beneficial for our educational environment.” he said.
Whatever your opinion of the new law, the effect it
will have remains to be seen. Luckily no incidents of wrongful use have occurred
on any Texas campuses. Still, the controversy surrounding it is not likely to
end any time soon. 
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