Saturday, March 5, 2016

Campus Carry Law at Texas State University has Members Shooting Blanks on the Future Enviroment of the Campus

By Erik Rodriguez




Heather C. Galloway outside Honors College
Courtesy of  Ron Silva
Members of campus opposed to the campus carry law lack need for it, yet others see it as a way to uphold their rights.

Beginning August 1, 2016 Texas senate Bill 11 (SB 11) often mentioned as “Campus Carry” will take effect at Texas State University. With the date approaching, many campus members are feeling an uncertainty over the future environment of the campus.
Heather C. Galloway, Dean of Honors College at Texas State University, is opposed to the campus carry law, and said she had reason to believe that other universities that have enacted Campus Carry are encouraging faculty to avoid discussing controversial topics.


“The campus environment does not improve by allowing students to legally carry firearms” she said. “My biggest concern is that it might change how we interact with students.”


Campus Carry Opposer Terry Bertling is an adjunct lecturer at Texas State University. Bertling believes that the option private universities have on opting out of this law should be afforded to public universities as well.
“As someone who teaches, I’d rather not have students who carry” she said. “It doesn’t create a good environment for learning.”

Faculty members aren’t the only ones uncertain of the effects of Campus Carry, Texas State students also feel uncertain over the mixing of the school system and gun laws.

Hakeer Kaymore, Business Management major at Texas State University, opposes Campus Carry. She said students will feel more scared to speak up because of other people’s reactions.
Alex Molina, Political Science Major at Texas State University, strongly opposes Campus Carry.

“This is a place of education, we don't welcome guns here” He said. “We should separate both of those things.”
Melanie Bush who is a Texas State student doesn’t see the need for carrying a gun on campus.

“Some people feel more powerful and stronger when they have a weapon, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to fix anything,” she said.
Although there is a majority of anti-carry perspectives made up of both faculty and students, a portion of dissent does appear from those who are in the middle of this debate.

Jesse Miara, Computer Science Major at Texas State, is partially for Campus Carry. He said it’s a constitutional right that deserves to be exercised.


Terry Bertling Morgan Mitchell

Photo of Terry Bertling
Courtesy of Morgan Mitchell

Photo of Hakeer Kaymore
Courtesy of Bailey Savage

Photo of Alex Molina
Courtesy of Logan Martin

Photo of Melanie Bush
Photo by Erik Rodriguez




Photo of Jesse Miara
Courtesy of Clayton Kolavo



1 comment:

  1. Hey everyone, this is my article for our Diverse sources Assignment. Putting all of this together was a real tedious task, so if you notice any mistakes don't be afraid to leave a comment before I post it up on TRACS. Also feel free to leave a comment if you like it.

    Had trouble navigating on BlogSpot. I couldn't change the white highlighter and my links don't want to show up.

    ReplyDelete