Des Moines Register
09-13-07
3 university presidents: Give campus police guns
BY LISA ROSSI AND ERIN JORDAN
REGISTER STAFF WRITERS
The presidents of Iowa's three public universities recommended Wednesday that
certified campus police officers be armed.
University of Iowa President Sally Mason, Iowa State University President
Gregory Geoffroy and University of Northern Iowa President Benjamin Allen
stood in unison in support of the arming proposal in separate letters sent to the
Iowa Board of Regents.
The recommendations are the latest in a debate over whether to arm campus
police, a probe of public safety processes and protocols that was ordered at the
state's three universities after 32 people were killed in a campus shooting in April
at Virginia Tech.
The regents will consider the proposal at their meeting Tuesday and Wednesday
in Council Bluffs.
"That's interesting, but there are other things that will factor into the decision,"
said Regent Craig Lang of Brooklyn about the presidents' letters. He said student
opinion and national reports would also be considered.
At least 48 people - including students, faculty and others - have been killed on
U.S. college campuses in violent outbreaks since Nov. 1, 1991, when a graduate
student in physics opened fire in two buildings on the U of I campus killing five
people.
The U of I and ISU are the only universities in the Big Ten and Big 12
conferences, respectively, that do not allow their officers to regularly carry
firearms.
Geoffroy wrote in his recommendation that safety was a priority on campus and
that police officers at the regents universities have the same training as other law
enforcement officers in the state.
"I realize that not everyone will agree with this recommendation, but I want
everyone to know that I fully understand the issues involved," Geoffroy wrote.
"It is my judgment that in order to ensure that we continue to provide the safest
possible learning environment for our students, faculty, staff and visitors to our
campus, and understanding that there are increasing threats to our security, we
must provide the professional staff whose responsibility it is to ensure safety and
protection with all of the tools they need to effectively carry out their
responsibilities."
Mason also cited as reasons for her decision that campus police have the same
training as all other police officers. Campus police deal with dangerous situations
in which they cannot adequately defend the students and faculty if they have to
return to their office to get a gun, she wrote.
Allen said the recommendation to arm UNI campus officers was one of several
designed to improve campus safety.
"The university must continually assess all aspects of security and make the
necessary changes and investments to provide the level of security that students,
faculty, staff, parents and visitors reasonably expect," he wrote.
The presidents wrote their recommendations after receiving input from campus
groups.
The faculty senates of ISU and the U of I voted Tuesday to recommend that their
universities join the others in their conferences and arm their campus police.
The UNI faculty senate voted on Aug. 31 against arming campus police.
Reporter Lisa Rossi can be reached at (515) 232-2383 or lrossi@dmreg.com