Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier, IA
08-30-07
UNI students also divided on campus safety
By EMILY CHRISTENSEN, Courier Staff Writer
CEDAR FALLS --- University of Northern Iowa students favor arming campus
police officers, according to a survey conducted by the Northern Iowa Student
Government.
NISG President Andrew Morse said about 1,000 of the university's 12,500
students responded to the 10-question survey. Of those, 57 percent favor letting
campus officers carry guns.
However, Morse and other NISG senators said Wednesday they hope the
university and Iowa Board of Regents take a more comprehensive approach to
making the UNI, University of Iowa and Iowa State University campuses safer.
UNI, Iowa and ISU public safety directors have already recommended to the
Iowa Board of Regents that their officers be allowed to carry guns. It is up to
university presidents to determine how the majority on each campus feels about
the issue. Their recommendations are due to the regents next month.
Zenab Chowdhry, the senate's director of diversity and student life, said she
would like to see more phones in campus buildings, as well as more
advertisement of the four-digit number that can be dialed in an emergency.
"In Sabin Hall, which I am most familiar with, there are no phones except in the
professors' offices," she said. "Phones in the classrooms would cut down on the
time someone who wasn't familiar with the building would spend searching
offices for one."
And while many students have cell phones, the four-digit number is only useful
when dialing from a campus phone line.
Sydney Eastern, NISG senator, also recommended looking into the installation of
panic buttons in classrooms and educational buildings.
But not everyone favors providing officers with firearms. Joel Kiesey, NISG
senator, said he would rather see more counseling services available for
students.
"It seems to me we are reacting to what happened at Virginia Tech," he said.
Dave Zarifis, the university's public safety director, told students the original
report was initiated before the massacre at Virginia Tech, but the discussion
heated up following that incident. His 18 officers are trained and certified to carry
concealed weapons at any time, except on the job.
President Benjamin Allen can give officers permission to carry weapons on duty
in some situations. Zarifis mentioned two such situations --- when officers went
off-campus to investigate the Gilchrist fire and when notable speakers are on
campus.
Michael Fette, NISG senator, said keeping the guns locked away except in
specific cases seemed to be a good compromise, but at least one senator
disagreed.
"If the gun is locked up and something happens on one side of campus and they
have to drive all the way to the other end of campus to get it, that doesn't make
much sense," said Drew Kahler, NISG senator."If we are not enabling them to do
their job to the fullest extent, it is a disservice to them and the entire campus."
Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or
Emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.