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Campus concealed carry: University of Texas hears faculty concerns

The University of Texas System's regents debated at its meeting Thursday if faculty can ban handguns from their offices. 

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Eric Gay/AP/File
Students walked through the University of Texas at Austin campus in Austin in September 2012. Campus administrators debated at its reagents' meeting Thursday if faculty can ban concealed handguns from their offices.

As Texas prepares to become the ninth state to allow licensed holders to carry guns on campus, at least听one听question听looms large听for the University of Texas System's听regents: Can faculty ban guns from their offices?听听

Unable to settle this听question听Thursday, as well as the additional question of whether holders should be prohibited from keeping a bullet in the chamber of a semi-automatic weapon,听the regents postponed any action until they meet again in July.听听

The board's听hesitation hints at its anxiety about upholding the right to bear arms even while ensuring that the new regulations don't promote campus听violence.听听

Although Hayden Henry, a junior at the University of Texas at Austin, is in听, he sees Prof. Lisa Moore's point, "that universities are a sacred place of learning" and that professors "should not have to worry about how to manage a population that might be armed,"听the Daily Texan,听university's student newspaper, reported.听听

"I see a professor's office as his or her personal space, similar to how I see my dorm as my residence and, therefore, my space," said Mr. Henry. "I believe [guns] should be allowed in dorms, but [professors] should have the ability to designate their office as a gun-free zone."听听

罢丑别听听at the regent's meeting and on campuses across the Lone Star state come after the governor听signed "campus carry" into听law in June 2015,听requiring that the state's 14 public universities allow concealed carry license holders to bring handguns into campus buildings and classrooms starting in August. Texas will join听Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Utah, and Wisconsin.听

The Texas law听permits听private colleges and universities, which include Baylor, Rice, Southern Methodist, and Texas 海角大神,听to allow campus carry, but none do, according to the Associated Press.听听

Each public听university can draft听policies听about听campus carry before it听becomes听effective听this summer.听听They can, for instance, establish gun-free zones on campus听听according to the Dallas Morning News. Universities听听whether they should allow handguns in the classroom, in dorms, in faculty offices, laboratories, gyms, and sporting events, according to The Dallas Morning News's "Campus Carry Tracker," updated May 9.听According to the survey, no universities will prevent licensed holders from carrying guns in classrooms, while none will allow guns at ticketed sporting events.听However, the University of Texas at Austin, the university system's flagship institution, proposed granting professors the right to ban handguns from their offices.听听

Gregory Fenves, the university's president, proposed the ban听amid growing听concern among faculty about armed students. Fritz Steiner, the university's longtime dean of听architecture, said the law听听in his motivation to depart to the University of Pennsylvania School of Design. And Siva听Vaidhyanathan, a media studies professor at the University of Virginia, and a UT alumnus, said he 听to return to his alma mater because he was听concerned听about the new law. But not all professors on all campuses feel this way.听听

Charles Haywood, a听professor at Purdue听University听in Indiana, 听in an opinion article for the student听newspaper that听faculty听with concealed carry licenses should be allowed to do so, reversing the university's current policy. He wrote the听article听shortly after the shooting at听Umpqua Community College in Oregon.听听

"A compromise gun safety solution is probably the best revised policy. I propose that the University change the policy to permit faculty and staff, but not students, who hold concealed carry permits, to exercise their rights on campus. If the experience of the Purdue community with such a new policy is the same as every other community in the country that has adopted concealed carry, the new policy could later be extended to licensed students by general agreement."听

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