Des Moines Register
11-01-07
Firearms plan wins approval of regents
U of I and ISU leaders plan to arm campus police within a few weeks, while UNI
may wait a bit longer.
By ERIN JORDAN
REGISTER IOWA CITY BUREAU
Iowa City, Ia. Police officers at Iowa's public universities could start carrying guns
in the next month, following the Iowa Board of Regents' reversal of a 40-year-old
policy forbidding firearms for campus officers.
Leaders at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University said they expect to
take steps to arm campus police in the next few weeks. University of Northern
Iowa President Ben Allen said it may take a bit longer at UNI, the smallest public
campus, where faculty were opposed to arming campus police.
"Because everyone has been fully involved, we're prepared to move forward
more quickly," U of I President Sally Mason said Wednesday at the regents
meeting.
The regents voted 6-2 Wednesday for a comprehensive security plan that would
include arming campus police. Regents Michael Gartner and Rose Vasquez,
both of Des Moines, voted against the proposal. Gartner said the bulk of campus
crimes involve alcohol and drugs, which are not addressed by arming campus
police. Vasquez has said in the past that she opposes arming campus police.
Gov. Chet Culver applauded the regents' decision. "I commend the regent
presidents, public safety directors and the Board of Regents for taking this
important step to increase the safety and security of our campuses," he said.
Public safety directors at the U of I, ISU and UNI have long requested the ability
to regularly arm their officers to better protect themselves and the campuses.
Faculty groups at the U of I and ISU supported the plan, and a majority of
students surveyed at all three schools favored arming campus police.
But there are opponents. About 120 people, most ISU students, signed a petition
to halt arming that was given to the regents Wednesday.
Each of the campus police departments now uses 9 mm pistols for training and
special circumstances. The universities would have to purchase more guns so
each certified officer could carry a weapon, said ISU Vice President for Finance
Warren Madden. He estimates the cost for ISU at about $5,000.
Before ISU's officers hit the streets with guns, officials will update their policy
manual, review officer certification status and talk with the Iowa Department of
Public Safety about weaponry, Madden said.
"Assuming we can complete all of those requirements, we could be in a position
by mid-November to make a recommendation to the president on arming,"
Madden said.
U of I Public Safety Director Chuck Green said his department's level of training
will be at least as high as the level of training at other Iowa police departments.
UNI's Allen said he wants the arming process to be slow enough to maximize
confidence on campus.
"They may never feel comfortable," he said.
The security policy also requires the universities to set up an emergency
communication system, seek early identification of people who may be a threat to
themselves or the campus, and establish additional training programs for campus
police.
The policy mandates a written report each time a gun is fired outside of training.
Any officer who causes serious injury or death would be placed on administrative
leave pending a review of the incident, which is common practice in law
enforcement agencies.
Regents approve lawsuit settlement
The Iowa Board of Regents unanimously approved a settlement with the Iowa
City Press-Citizen regarding violations of Iowa's open-meetings law during the
University of Iowa presidential search.
The settlement states that the board inadvertently broke the open-meetings law
with respect to meetings last November.
The regents say they relied on legal advice provided by attorneys and had
reason to believe that they were complying with the law when they held the
closed-session meetings that started Nov. 9 and continued through the following
week.
Regents President Michael Gartner said he would not allow so-called "rolling
meetings" in the future. Recordings from the closed-session meetings will not be
made public.
Regents give initial OK to tuition increases
The regents voted 5-3 Wednesday to give initial approval to 2008-09 tuition
increases that average 3.2 percent.
Gartner lobbied for a 2 percent increase for resident undergraduates to signal
appreciation to the Iowa Legislature, which granted the universities their full
budget request of $65 million this year.
The presidents of the U of I, Iowa State University and the University of Northern
Iowa said the increase would barely keep up with increasing operating costs. The
3.2 percent increase is the lowest for Iowa's public universities since 1980. The
increase in 1980 was 3 percent.
The board must formally approve the plan at its December meeting.
Regents pass new policy on naming
The regents unanimously approved a new policy for naming university buildings
and units that would not place additional restrictions on corporate names.
At the suggestion of Regent David Miles, the board struck "commercial products"
from a list of entities that could be considered for naming.
The policy approved Wednesday would require "thorough due diligence" of
potential donors, including corporations, foundations and people. There would be
no additional scrutiny for corporate donors, despite the suggestion from Miles
that these gifts have potential risks.
"When you have a corporate donor, you need to look at corporate influence,"
Miles said.