On and off since 2012 the PASSHE Board of Governors has been considering what a system-wide weapons policy might look like. Although it has been difficult to find any campus stakeholders who advocate weapons on PASSHE campuses, this is part of an emotional national debate about guns on campus that has been a topic of multiple court rulings. On Thursday, January 9, 2014 the PASSHE Public Safety and Security Task Force held a hearing that was webcast to members of the Board of Governors (BOG) and is archived on the web. APSCUF President Steve Hicks, Vice President Ken Mash, and WCU Chapter President Lisa Millhous made statements at the hearing. Speaking for students, East Stroudsburg’s Student Government President Justin Amman expressed disappointment that students were excluded from the conversation and the council of SGA Presidents only received the proposed policy this week, so they were unable to formulate a response before the hearing. At the hearing, PASSHE Chancellor Frank Brogan indicated that the BOG will *not* be voting on the proposed weapons policy at the January meeting because more work needs to be done to consider the feedback that has been received. The window for providing feedback is still open (email: publicsafetytaskforce@passhe.edu).
It is APSCUF’s position that the best weapons policy would prohibit weapons in all areas of campus (except for authorized security personnel). WCU’s Faculty Senate has made public statements opposing a more flexible weapons policy, as has the Commission of PASSHE Presidents. At this time there are no Pennsylvania laws that address the issue of weapons on college campuses.
Relevant Links:
- Philadelphia Inquirer article (1/8/2014): Hearing set on allowing guns at state-run universities
- Philadelphia Inquirer article (1/9/2014): Decision postponed
- Overview on the national debate from the National Council of State Legislatures (Jan 2014)
- Legal overview from a national group opposed to guns on campus
- Student perspective from a national group advocating guns on campus
- Most recent court ruling in Florida
APSCUF-WCU 