University of Texas & Campus Carry

[atxscubasteve]

I am currently a student at the University of Texas at Austin. I have my concealed carry and am disarmed every time I walk onto the UT campus to go to school. I need your help. The president of the university sent an email today for the input from all citizens alike including students, staff, parents, community members, and YOU! I need your help in getting our voices out there. We need to blast this website across as many forums as possible because it's very likely that what UT decides to do will be what the rest of the universities in Texas decide to do.

Go to this website that was created today and take this survey and put in your two cents as to why Campus Carry should be allowed in as most buildings as possible on campus. The new campus carry law gives discretion to the presidents and others associated with the university to determine where the 30.06 signs will be posted. We need to let them know, in an educated and logical manner, why prohibiting campus carry in any of the buildings is a bad idea. Please do your duty and get your voice out there.

https://utexas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/S ... fdWtcjk0Bf

or

http://campuscarry.utexas.edu/

[solaritx]

Done !!!!

[J.R.@A&M]

I think this topic is already running here http://texaschlforum.com/viewtopic.php? ... en#p997393 . Not that I mind the duplication :)

[atxscubasteve]

The only reason I posted today was because as a student, we all received the campus wide email from the President this morning sharing this information. I figure they will start reading them and the decision will be made late November or early December.

Here's the email:

Dear UT community,

As you know, the Texas Legislature enacted a new state law (SB 11) that allows licensed permit holders to carry concealed handguns on public college and university campuses beginning Aug. 1, 2016. The law gives a university president certain discretion in establishing rules, regulations and provisions for the campus. The safety of our community is of the utmost importance. I want to make clear my goal is to promote safety and security for all members of the campus and in a way that is fully compliant with the law.

I write today to outline the process for developing such policies for The University of Texas at Austin in coordination with Chancellor William McRaven and The University of Texas System. The UT System Board of Regents has final authority in approving all policies on implementing the campus carry legislation.

I am establishing a campus-wide Working Group to recommend SB 11 implementation policies for me to consider. I am grateful that UT Law Professor Steve Goode has accepted my request to chair the Working Group. The group includes faculty, staff, students, a distinguished alumnus, a parent and university administrators. The full membership is listed below.

The Working Group will seek input from students, staff, faculty and other members of the UT community in the coming months and complete its work of recommending policies to me by late November. The group will be supported by two subcommittees — one focused on safety and security issues, and the other on communication and training — staffed by employees from UT Police Department, Campus Safety and Security, the Office of Legal Affairs, among other campus offices.

As a flagship public university, UT Austin’s ongoing success in education and research is due, in large part, to the healthy and respectful environment we have cultivated to support our mission to transform lives. My goal is to develop a campus carry policy through which we preserve an environment that is worthy of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni and our role as flagship public research university.

I plan to provide regular updates to campus on this issue. In the meantime, I encourage you to look at the resources available online at campuscarry.utexas.edu, including messages from Chancellor McRaven and opportunities to provide your thoughts and ideas to the Working Group.

The Working Group will hold its first meeting shortly, and early in the semester will announce a variety of opportunities for community feedback, including public meetings on campus. We already have in place an online survey where you can share comments and suggestions.

The full Working Group includes:

Chair
Steven Goode, School of Law

Dean’s Representative
Lynn Crismon, Dean, College of Pharmacy

Faculty Representatives
Steven Biegalski, Cockrell School of Engineering
Mechele Dickerson, School of Law
Coleman Hutchison, College of Liberal Arts
Victor Saenz, College of Education
William (Bill) Spelman, LBJ School of Public Affairs

Staff Representatives
Leticia Acosta, McCombs School of Business
Glen Baum, Cockrell School of Engineering
Stacey Bennett, Division of Housing and Food Service

Student Representatives
Rachel Osterloh, President, Senate College of Councils
Xavier Rotnofsky, President, Student Government
Brian Wilkey, President, Graduate Student Assembly

Parent Representative
Sandra Blount, Sugar Land, Texas

Alumni Representative
The Honorable Wallace Jefferson, Distinguished Alumnus of UT Austin, Austin, Texas

Special Collections Representative
Stephen Enniss, Director, Harry Ransom Center

Subcommittee Chairs
Janet Dukerich, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
Bob Harkins, Associate Vice President, Campus Safety and Security

Ex-officio Representative
Carlos Martinez, Associate Vice President, Office of the President

Sincerely,

Gregory L. Fenves
President

[suthdj]

My guess is they already made the decision now they just need data points to try and make it legit.

[Vol Texan]

Done.

Here was my comment to them in the survey:

I understand there is a lot of concern about 'a bunch of drunk freshmen running around with guns', or inviting criminals to carry on campus. But please do remember, this is clearly not what the Campus Carry law is about. It's about a very small subset of the population who (a) are all adults, (b) have passed a criminal background check, (c) have passed a proficiency exam, (d) cause virtually no crime, and (e) can already carry on campus, just not inside the buildings.

Please allow me to expand on these ideas.

(a) Your average freshman cannot have a CHL. One must be over 21 to obtain the license, with some special exceptions to our military members. I would wager that the vast majority of your 18-20 year old students are not in the active military. The majority of the kids in the dorms won't be allowed to have a gun, because they don't have a CHL.

(b) Nobody gets a CHL without a thorough background check. These individuals have a verifiably clean criminal record.

(c) CHL holders take a class, pass a test, and pass a shooting exam. They are trained in when they can and cannot use their handguns, and the legal implications of choosing to do so. A key aspect of the CHL course is about 'non-violent conflict resolution' - meaning that the armed CHL holder will more likely de-escalate, apologize, and walk away, rather than escalate into an armed conflict.

(d) This is the key point - I've stated some things in my first three points that you may interpret as opinion, rather than fact. But the stats don't lie. CHL holders commit crimes at a statistically smaller rate than does the general population. Your average student is about 16-18 times more likely to commit a crime than is your average CHL holder. These are not my stats, these are the ones presented by the Texas DPS. And no, this is not a single year snapshot...this is a recurring theme over the 20+ years of the Texas CHL program. The DPS goes even further and shows that the average police officer in Texas is about 5-7 times more likely to commit a crime than is the average CHL holder. Yes, that is true...please don't believe me, but research it yourself on the Texas DPS website. Simply put, CHL holders don't engage in criminal activities all that much. They are the 'card-carrying good guys'. While the politically-appointed heads of some local police agencies may not acknowledge this fact, rest assured that the rank-and-file law enforcement officer knows this.

(e) Campus carry is a poorly named law. We can already carry on campus, and already do. I can carry on the grounds of my daughter's elementary school, and I already do. However, we cannot enter the buildings, or participate in school activities outdoors. To be honest, Campus Carry isn't really about having guns in the classrooms (although there have been some high-profile active shooter incidents inside buildings on campus in years past). It's about being able to protect yourself between the buildings. It's about a mom being able to attend a night class, and being able to protect herself on the way back to the bus (and again after getting off the bus on the way home). It's about a professor leaving late after hours and wanting to feel more self-reliant and protected on the way to the car.

Please consider these items when identifying the limited number of areas on a campus where a gun should continue to be restricted. Your CHL holders on your campus are a very small minority of people. Given the demographics of your student population, the percentage of CHL holders in that group will be minuscule. But these very few people all belong to a group that has proven itself to be among the most trustworthy and safe groups in Texas.

[mloamiller]

Done.

Here was my comment to them in the survey:

I understand there is a lot of concern about 'a bunch of drunk freshmen running around with guns', or inviting criminals to carry on campus. But please do remember, this is clearly not what the Campus Carry law is about. It's about a very small subset of the population who (a) are all adults, (b) have passed a criminal background check, (c) have passed a proficiency exam, (d) cause virtually no crime, and (e) can already carry on campus, just not inside the buildings.

Please allow me to expand on these ideas.

(a) Your average freshman cannot have a CHL. One must be over 21 to obtain the license, with some special exceptions to our military members. I would wager that the vast majority of your 18-20 year old students are not in the active military. The majority of the kids in the dorms won't be allowed to have a gun, because they don't have a CHL.

(b) Nobody gets a CHL without a thorough background check. These individuals have a verifiably clean criminal record.

(c) CHL holders take a class, pass a test, and pass a shooting exam. They are trained in when they can and cannot use their handguns, and the legal implications of choosing to do so. A key aspect of the CHL course is about 'non-violent conflict resolution' - meaning that the armed CHL holder will more likely de-escalate, apologize, and walk away, rather than escalate into an armed conflict.

(d) This is the key point - I've stated some things in my first three points that you may interpret as opinion, rather than fact. But the stats don't lie. CHL holders commit crimes at a statistically smaller rate than does the general population. Your average student is about 16-18 times more likely to commit a crime than is your average CHL holder. These are not my stats, these are the ones presented by the Texas DPS. And no, this is not a single year snapshot...this is a recurring theme over the 20+ years of the Texas CHL program. The DPS goes even further and shows that the average police officer in Texas is about 5-7 times more likely to commit a crime than is the average CHL holder. Yes, that is true...please don't believe me, but research it yourself on the Texas DPS website. Simply put, CHL holders don't engage in criminal activities all that much. They are the 'card-carrying good guys'. While the politically-appointed heads of some local police agencies may not acknowledge this fact, rest assured that the rank-and-file law enforcement officer knows this.

(e) Campus carry is a poorly named law. We can already carry on campus, and already do. I can carry on the grounds of my daughter's elementary school, and I already do. However, we cannot enter the buildings, or participate in school activities outdoors. To be honest, Campus Carry isn't really about having guns in the classrooms (although there have been some high-profile active shooter incidents inside buildings on campus in years past). It's about being able to protect yourself between the buildings. It's about a mom being able to attend a night class, and being able to protect herself on the way back to the bus (and again after getting off the bus on the way home). It's about a professor leaving late after hours and wanting to feel more self-reliant and protected on the way to the car.

Please consider these items when identifying the limited number of areas on a campus where a gun should continue to be restricted. Your CHL holders on your campus are a very small minority of people. Given the demographics of your student population, the percentage of CHL holders in that group will be minuscule. But these very few people all belong to a group that has proven itself to be among the most trustworthy and safe groups in Texas.

Very well written. Mind if I "borrow" much of that text, with some minor editing to make it "mine"?

[atxscubasteve]

Nice Vol Texan!!! That was very well written and it was great you have stated the facts, I too will cite the Texas DPS website when I finish my letter to the university. There is no reason for them to put the signs up unless its political pressure. Let's remember that the UT chancellor, and former Navy Admiral, McRaven is largely against campus carry and rest assured he will want as many signs posted as possible. I thank him for getting Bin Ladin, but wouldn't he like responsible citizens on campus to be able to protect themselves from would be terrorists or from people looking to do harm? Or does he think he is the only guy that should have a gun?

It's great to see the responsible citizens on this forum and others defend our rights.

[SC1903A3]

Done.

[srothstein]

I think this shows one of the problems with Texas education. A study being conducted at one of the flagship universities in the state, and no one appoints an expert on the subject tot he committee. I would think that if they were worried about the effects of carrying weapons on campus, they would look at some of their criminology professors for their expertise. I understand that their selection might be a little thin since they do not have a criminal justice department or degree, but they do have sociologists and some of them do specialize in criminology.

Yeah, create a committee and don't use the experts on your staff. They might not come up with the answers you want them to since they might try to be honest and show what the science says.

[Vol Texan]

Very well written. Mind if I "borrow" much of that text, with some minor editing to make it "mine"?

It's all yours. I learned almost all of it on this forum anyway!

[JALLEN]

I think this shows one of the problems with Texas education. A study being conducted at one of the flagship universities in the state, and no one appoints an expert on the subject tot he committee. I would think that if they were worried about the effects of carrying weapons on campus, they would look at some of their criminology professors for their expertise. I understand that their selection might be a little thin since they do not have a criminal justice department or degree, but they do have sociologists and some of them do specialize in criminology.

Yeah, create a committee and don't use the experts on your staff. They might not come up with the answers you want them to since they might try to be honest and show what the science says.

"The" flagship university, actually.

UT has always been much more liberal than the rest of the state, as far back as the '30's. It's a bunch of professors, for crying out loud! The last people I would want on such a committee is sociology professors, and psychiatrists. Those guys drive me nuts!

I had occasion to meet ADM McRaven last year at a basketball game, and while we did not discuss this topic in our brief chat, I understand he is concerned about the impact campus carry might have on recruiting top professors to UT. They are a weird lot, you know.

[Jilly]

Done!

[treadlightly]

There are degree plans at UT that require excellence and drive. There are also degree plans that barely rise above finger painting, but that's ok. Some of us want to understand plasma physics, some of us just want to someday see the pretty Northern lights.

All the classes are on the same campuses. The Fort Worth Zoo has shown the way.

Just be honest about the nature of some degree programs and declare the whole of UT a daycare. Patton's billeting for his handful to win the war could still be filled. Texas A&M's Chancellor John Sharp could still take up the slack.

For full disclosure, I attended UT Austin in the late 70's. As a lad in the 60's, my family lived close enough to get the flavor of the campus unrest of that time, but I didn't really understand it. Mostly, I remember the day a bunch of hippies wanted to take a little American flag out of my hand. My Dad stood between me and the crowd of hippies like Hercules ready to slay the hydra.

Just like in the myth, Hercules prevailed unscathed. I kept my flag.