At first, Guns on Campus is a subject you might like to consult with police about, but only so far. Left something out? It might be smarter - and more patriotic and useful - to consult students: the targets of school shootings.
Syndicated Blog Columnist and Author John Longenecker explores the question of exploring and giving more weight to student input than officials, and why not? It's the students who are most affected by shooters coming onto campus, and, according to Longenecker, are the first line of defense as most targets are.
Longenecker's complaint is that students, community and constituents are again being ignored and frozen out of the discussion in such disaster planning. He points out that you don't ask officials how much authority you get to have, or on what it allowed or disallowed. You tell them, and, like the objectional Fairness Doctrine, the move is not to free discussion, but to freeze discussion, period.
Some colleges around the nation are considering armed students on campus while others are looking at arming faculty. Utah is acknowledging its armed students and South Carolina is looking at it.
"The idea of trustees' insistence on staying in the picture in every disaster interferes with the interests of the people they serve," comments Longenecker. "The smarter solution is to recognize the full authority of students as adults, and not to insist that they check this genuine authority at the Admissions Office."
Longenecker's analysis of the issue is in his latest edition of Good For The Country at www.GoodForTheCountry.com
Guns On Campus: Advice To Nevada Colleges
