Dorm room. Middle of the afternoon. Robbery. Gunpoint. A whole bunch of bad news.
Sounds like these criminals were pretty brazen, and I’d bet they are well aware that guns aren’t allowed on campus or in the dorms. In fact, WMU bans basically all forms of defensive weapons on campus, including pepper spray, and other items (I’ll admit, I carried a 3.5″ razor sharp Benchmade folder all 5 years I was a student there…) and students don’t seem to be too happy about it.
The ‘WMU Memes’ Facebook page posted the message to the right to the President of the University. I think they’re on the right track in that they want a means to defend themselves while on campus. Unfortunately, I don’t think pepper spraying a gun wielding attacker is such a great idea.
I’m a big fan of concealed carry on campus for students that have concealed carry permits. A lot of folks aren’t because there is an image of the typical college student that only cares about getting wasted and being generally irresponsible. I know, because I was that college student for a while. However, by the time I was of age to get a concealed carry permit, I was living off-campus in an apartment and working part time for the same employer I still work for 10.5 years later. I must not have been too irresponsible.
The fact is that the students who only care about getting drunk and being irresponsible aren’t the same students as the ones responsible and committed enough to to go through the process of obtaining a concealed carry permit. They can carry everywhere else they go, and they are responsible, and safe, so what changes when they go on campus? Why shouldn’t they be able to carry there too?
Thankfully, a couple commenters on the WMU Memes page seem to have the same idea. I’m not sure if there’s a WMU chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, but I’d like to see one get started.
“Fight on, Fight on for Western…”