There ain’t no doubt: I love this land, but these horrific campus killings must be brought to an end. Guns on campus is the definition of risky, giving equal opportunity of bearing arms to the clinically insane, over the rest of the responsible student body. Our nation’s rise in firearm-related deaths, specifically on college grounds, relates to an unheard cry for help. Over the past couple of years, guns on campus have resulted in an array of inhumane massacres and news breakings, stunning Americans worldwide. Guns have created the skyrocketing amount of at least one hundred and fifty-six school shootings in America since 2013 (EveryTown). These instances could have ultimately been avoided, as our campus security should be …show more content…
With the school’s recent budget drop, the limitation of campus security employment had struck a high. Only one security officer is hired at a time, with the substantial perk of being unarmed at all times at the Umpqua campus. This factor contributes to the numerous cracks in God’s gift of education within our beloved country. Studies have shown that at least sixty-three percent of small town colleges are more likely of experiencing a massive on-campus shooting. Take Farmingdale University, for example: their prestige rating in safety is excellent compared to the recently endangered Delta State University. A school population peaking five thousand versus a school that exceeds eight thousand. Which campus would you attempt to wreak havoc on? In addition to your average Post Traumatic Stress Disorder diagnosed firearm retailer, countless alternatives in pursuing gun variety are continuously emerging in the bustling world of today. GunBroker.com, GrabAGun.com, and GunsAmerica.com are only three of the hundreds of franchises that make obtaining a weapon in America much simpler than the twentieth century. Although web surfing is highly ranked in the top five daily activities of a college student, constant gun exposure is not only to blame by these legal businesses, but greatly influenced by the gun-friendly parents of our American brainiacs.
School should be a place of peace and opportunity, but gaps in the system of gun control threatens the safety of faculty and students. School shootings have killed a total of 297 lives, young and old (Slate Magazine). Gun control has been a continuous nationwide debate for many years. It seems that no one wants to take a stance against guns unless they are personally affected. In order to take control of the matter and prevent more incidents from continuing schools need to change. To achieve a safe environment in schools need to educate faculty, safe and students, heighten security, and assess mental health issues.
Unfortunately, the notion of schools being a safe place is no longer a trend across American schools. Disturbing mass shootings in the U.S continue to shock the media. A school shooting is when someone attacks a school using a gun. The Secret Service says these shootings are "deliberately selected as the location for the attack". The reasons massacres occur in schools is because of poor security, violence in video games/media, and bullying. Shockingly the U.S. has the most school shootings than any other country in the world. According to the FBI, mass shootings occur, on average, every 2 weeks in the U.S. While the cause of school shootings are sometimes unpredictable, it is a growing issue and they need to be prevented. Most shooters don’t have mental issues, they have a plan to kill, so there is no singular cause that creates violent people. On April 16th, 2007, the most deadly school massacre occurred. Seung-Hui Cho killed thirty-two students at Virginia-Tech. As Americans, we no longer should turn on the news and witness these gruesome murders. We try to make sense of these murders, but it’s ineffectual. There are measures we can take as a society to help. The number one question in a school massacre is, "why would a person that has a capable sense of mind even do that?” It is our moral responsibility to fix these issues. In order to stop this problem, we need to find its roots.
Due to the recent upheaval of violent crimes on campus, many pro-gun activist have suggested that both the students and teachers should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. Those for this may claim that their rights have been violated because many college campuses refuse to allow weapons of any kind on campus. It is not the right to carry a gun which is in debate here, but rather it is whether or not guns should be allowed on a college campus. The Constitution of The United States of America already grants citizens the right to carry guns, and being in the south, I am by far no stranger to seeing a gun from time-to-time, but it is not appropriate for guns to be in a vulnerable area such as a college campus. There are already too many guns available to the public, and allowing them on an educational facility would greatly increase the likelihood of injury or death. Americans, as previously mentioned, have the right to bear arms, and this should be held sacred, and not infringed, taken away, or limited. However, stricter firearm control should be implemented for those who chose to carry a concealed weapon, and gun control should be done by having stricter certification processes before a firearm or gun permit is issued, intensive psychological evaluation for the person or persons applying for a gun permit or a gun,and greater educational requirements for gun owners and firearm safety.
Date rapes, hate crimes and theft have become an apparent concern on college campuses. The most disturbing crime on a college campus is a school shooting. Being a victim of any crime is the last thing any student or parent thinks of when choosing a college or university. The possibilities of danger on a college campus have been increasing over the years due to the reported crimes ranging from theft to murder. Because of the recent years of college campus reported shootings, both student and parent have become alarmingly concerned about
Concealed carry and college campuses are two major topics currently in the media, yet these two topics are rarely used in unison, until now. The topic of whether or not concealed carry should be allowed on college campuses is a now mainstream debate with multiple views and numerous differentiating opinions. Many of the general public question if campus police is capable enough to protect a university’s enormous student body? Another commonly discussed issue is if concealed handguns actually do deter crime, and if they are capable of aiding in stopping a mass shooting spree? Or if guns on campus, carried by fellow classmates would make students as a whole feel more cautious or on the opposing hand make students feel more secure with guns carried on campus? If guns are allowed on campus, how will this affect a growing student’s ideology? These questions and many more are highly spoken of in our social media based generation, the answers to these questions help to improve our knowledge on this debate of concealed carry on college campuses, which will lead us to form our own individual opinions on this debate topic based on the facts and evidence presented.
Since those horrible days in 1966 and 2007 there have been at least 6 other major shootings at American College Campuses. Among those six, a custodian shot and killed 7 people while injuring 2 at the California State University on July 12, 1976. Also involved in a horrific shooting, Douglas Pennington was a parent of 2 students of Shepherd University. He killed 2 people before committing suicide. Some say this is reason enough to prohibit the use of guns all together, but there is still a voice that rings out heavily across the Nation- nearly 3 million voices, to be literal. That voice is the N.R.A. (Jost, 2007, 126)
If college campuses legalize the right to obtain a concealed weapon there could a risk of escalation in violence on college campuses. Allowing college students to carry a concealed weapon on campus makes for many opportunities of potential misuse of the weapon. According to the Journal of American College Health, most college students don't have experience shooting or holding a gun, therefore, they could make a mistake and unintentionally harm somebody or even themselves. Granting college students access to guns will pose increased risks of incidents of self-injury, accidental shootings and even murders. The University of Louisiana system shows that evidence also indicates that the presence of concealed weapons on campus would increase the likelihood of
During the month of January 2013, Carlton Berry was accused of opening fire at Lone Star College. He was accused of shooting two people before wounding himself in the leg. Even though it came to be known in the course of the investigation that it was really not Carlton Berry who was involved, but Trey Foster, the question arises as to whether guns should be allowed in colleges. This lone incidence that happened at Lone Star Community College reflects the April 16th, the year 2007 where there was a shooting on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute along with State University. In this incidence, a student by the name Seung-hui opened fire on unsuspecting scholars killing approximately 32 people and wounding many others before he
The mainstream media leads many to believe that mass shootings on college campuses are very common, and are in despite need of gun reform. This is actually false information, the truth is that campuses and other schools are among the safest places in America. According to recent studies, the actual homicide rates on campuses are one in one million, considerably less than the nationwide average of fifty-seven million. In addition, other crimes are still proven to be less likely to happen at colleges, rather than in common rural areas. And in most
Gun control on campuses all across the United States of America has been a controversial and popular debate topic for me ever since I woke up one morning on April 20, 1999 and witnessed, what at that time was the deadliest campus shooting in our history, at that time. Obviously I am talking about the shooting that occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado where Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris attacked their school and opened fire on helpless students, brutally murdering 12 students, a teacher, and then killing themselves. I may have been young at the time of the shooting, but it definitely was my first interaction with deadly violence in a campus setting and opened my eyes to the harsh reality of how crazy our world can be at
In the year of 2015, there were approximately 23 college campus shootings (Sanburn). While walking to class, students should feel safe and secure at all times. Because of the current gun control laws, it is hard to feel that way. There have been too many college campus shootings that result in an uneasy feeling while walking through campus, and that is simply not okay. The violence that is being caused each day because of guns has become unbearable. There have been several different occurrences in the past year of mass shootings in different areas. Guns are making everywhere an unsafe and risky place to be. Gun control is an issue that needs to be addressed during this election because these weapons are adding too much violence to the world and are the reason for the end of
Watching the news and reading the newspaper will proclaim that gun violence has lead to uncontrollable measures. Everytime I turn on the television there is a shooting, and the results are always someone getting killed. Clubs, Schools, and even in my own neighborhood are the places that are singled out the most. Guns on a college campus deflexes the purpose of instututional learning, it’s very dangerous to the school, students and administratives. Although there are dangers on university campuses, students should not be allowed to carry concealed handguns because guns on campus lead to an escalation in violent crime, distraction from the learning environment and more suicides.
The tragic events at Virginia Tech in April of 2007 and Northern Illinois University in February of 2008 have policymakers, campus officials and citizens looking for solutions to prevent future attacks (Dickerson). Violent shootings that have occurred on a few college campuses in recent years have provoked a debate over
There have been many accounts of mass shootings in the United States in 2010, guns were used 11,078 times and mass shootings compromising 35% of all gun deaths in the U.S. Region and states with lower gun ownership have shown to have higher shootings rates than states with lower gun ownership meaning letting guns on campuses will likely increase the chances of shootings to arise. According to a Harvard study‘‘
“Between [2001 through 2002] and [2005 through 2006], there were 61 total casualties during college shooting incidents. During the [2006 through 2007] to [2010 through 2011] school years, casualties nearly tripled, increasing to 168 killed or wounded; 42% of these victims were shot during the mass shootings at Virginia Tech (49) and Northern Illinois University (21). Casualties continued to climb to 208 [adding] (24%) during the last five school years—a 241% increase compared to the [2001 through 2002] to [2005 through 2006] school years.” Sadly many school shootings happen every year. Both Virginia and Illinois are not pro-gun. It is more difficult to get a tactical weapon, a.k.a. “Assault