[Vision2020] Idaho campus gun law takes effect Tuesday

[Paul Rumelhart]

I hope my body armor gets here soon or I might have to call in sick when 
the 1st arrives.  I wonder if I should bring a flashbang on Tuesday to 
distract people if I encounter a firefight walking from the parking lot 
to my office.

Paul

On 06/29/2014 05:40 AM, Tom Hansen wrote:
> Courtesy of today's (June 29, 2014) Spokesman-Review.
>
> -----------------------------------
>
>
>   Idaho campus gun law takes effect Tuesday
>
> University of Idaho professor Jack Sullivan feels he has a contractual 
> obligation to maintain a safe and nurturing classroom -- that's why he 
> plans to put on his syllabus that no firearms, concealed or otherwise, 
> will be permitted in his classes.
>
> The biological sciences educator said he's not sure if that's legal, 
> but it's what he feels is right.
>
> Sullivan isn't opposed to guns and has never lived in a gun-free home. 
> He grew up hunting with his family and still remembers the first 
> firearm he purchased. But, he said, allowing guns on campus 
> contradicts the best practices of education -- something he and others 
> have dedicated their careers to learning.
>
> That's the difference, he said, between the professors in classrooms 
> and the legislators at the Statehouse who voted last session to 
> approve the guns on campus law that goes into effect Tuesday.
>
> The law exempts retired law enforcement officers and people who have 
> enhanced concealed-carry permits from regulations that prohibit 
> firearms on college and university campuses.
>
> It came despite unanimous opposition from the presidents at the 
> state's institutions of higher education and the Idaho State Board of 
> Education. As the law becomes a reality, faculty at both the UI in 
> Moscow and Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston are left with more 
> concerns than answers.
>
> "I still don't know what's permitted with the law that's been passed, 
> so I don't know what my reaction should be," said Sullivan, who has 
> worked at UI since 1997.
>
> Matt Dorschel, UI public safety and security executive director, said 
> the university does not plan to hire any more security officers or arm 
> them in preparation for the law.
>
> Dorschel served as head of the university task force created to 
> provide recommendations and guidance to faculty and students on how to 
> handle the policy changes.
>
> Dorschel said the task force met weekly but did not believe arming 
> security officers was a necessary action, unlike Idaho State 
> University, which is planning to arm its security staff. He did say, 
> however, that UI will be adding elements on how to respond to armed 
> individuals into its training.
>
> The university works closely with the Moscow Police Department, which 
> has quick response times to provide aid on campus, Dorschel said. The 
> MPD also runs the on-campus firearm storage facility, which will be 
> relocated to the campus security office.
>
> Despite repeated attempts, the Tribune was unable to locate anyone on 
> either the UI or LCSC campuses who supports the new law.
>
> LCSC chemistry professor Rachel Jameton doesn't know how to handle two 
> conflicting mandates she has for her laboratory, which contains 
> organic solvents, oxidants and other flammable chemicals. She said the 
> college is required by the state to have a chemical safety plan that 
> keeps such materials in a secure environment.
>
> "We keep flame away from them," she said.
>
> Now the state has mandated that some people can bring guns into the 
> same environment. The laboratory operates in a manner to reduce the 
> risk of mishaps, she said, but adding a gun into the mix runs the risk 
> of an accidental discharge.
>
> As of now, she plans to continue prohibiting firearms in the lab.
>
> Stephan Flores, a UI associate professor in English, said he fears 
> that the knowledge of an armed student in class could deter free and 
> open communication, "which is vital to education."
>
> Trish Hartzell, UI faculty senate chairwoman, said the issue Flores 
> raises, combined with living in close quarters and various hormones 
> that go with being a young adult, can all be exacerbated by having a 
> gun in the mix.
>
> "I think our job as faculty is to protect students and I just don't 
> think we need guns on campus," she said.
>
> Dorschel said options that faculty are looking into, such as hanging 
> signs outside classrooms prohibiting firearms, are a direct violation 
> of the policy. Although he said he does not have the authority to tell 
> employees what they can and cannot do in terms of signs, the law 
> clearly states firearms are allowed inside classes.
>
> Jameton said a student she once worked with had a moment of weakness 
> in which he felt he was out of options. She was able to talk with him 
> and resolve the situation. But, she said, what if a similar instance 
> were to happen now at LCSC and the student involved had a gun?
>
> Jodie Nicotra, a UI English professor, said she is concerned for the 
> added responsibility that will be placed on graduate assistants. At 
> UI, first-year English classes are taught by graduate students.
>
> "So I worry that people who are teaching for the first time, in many 
> cases, just don't have the experience to manage this (law)," she said.
>
> Sullivan said he also fears that if there is a shooting on campus, 
> more guns could lead to more shots fired and more casualties. It also 
> creates an issue for law enforcement if there are multiple shooters 
> without an indication of the true perpetrators.
>
> "So that's the argument -- the only thing that stops a bad guy with a 
> gun is a good guy with a gun," Sullivan said. "The issue is too 
> complicated for sound bites like that."
>
> --------------------
>
> About 300 people gather on the Statehouse steps in Boise in February 
> to protest the bill seeking to allow concealed weapons on the state's 
> college campuses. The bill eventually passed and was signed into law.
>
> Guns_on_Campus29_t1240.jpg
>
> -----------------------------------
>
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
> http://www.MoscowCares.com <http://www.moscowcares.com/>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "There's room at the top they are telling you still.
> But first you must learn how to smile as you kill,
> If you want to be like the folks on the hill."
>
> - John Lennon
>
>
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