Dear Editor,
A survey was sent out to KSU students recently, asking their opinion on gun control on campus. This was touched on in a Collegian article published on Oct. 23 titled “SGA discusses surveys on concealed carry.”
I hope this will prompt students to really think about the solution to this nation-wide problem in light of the massacres that are becoming increasingly more common. The recent Umpqua shooting was on a college campus, as were others. I don’t think I need to enumerate why this is a significant issue to K-State students.
The decision to allow concealed carry on campuses is one that I fear will not combat mass shootings, but actually result in more violence. Perhaps we should look at precedent: there were several students with concealed weapons in the Umpqua shooting that could have used them but chose not to because they were afraid of being mistaken as the killer by the police. This, to me, demonstrates that allowing concealed carry on campuses will not solve the root of the problem and will most likely increase accidents.
Do we really think the “good guy with a gun,” who, by the way, did not have to get a permit or take a gun safety class, is really going to take down a shooter in a moment of panic? Arming untrained college students with guns is, frankly, complete lunacy.
And yet, if students do not take a stand on this issue, that is what we are going to get. As university students, we pose a combined force if we actually voice our opinion. I don’t claim to know all the answers; I just hope that K-State students will look at the facts, form an opinion and voice it. Young adults have the lowest voter turnout, but the most years to deal with the consequences. Let’s try and solve some of these issues.
Kelly Weckman
Graduate student in architecture
