Fear and the perception of danger have grown among many university professors, exacerbating the debate about conceal-and-carry on campus.
Anxiety, worry, and anger have crept into the minds of faculty members, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
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It’s difficult to determine how widespread the fear is, but anecdotes from the article show a geographically diverse set of professors concerned:
“Frank J. Donoghue, an English professor at Ohio State University, said the prospect of a campus shooting comes up in seemingly every conversation he has with colleagues, including at a recent promotion-and-tenure meeting. ‘The way people deal with it is to make nervous jokes, but it’s a real source of anxiety.’”
The increased anxiety isn’t without foundation. Vox notes that gun violence on campus has crept upward, even though firearm homicide deaths and non-fatal violent firearm crime have dramatically decreased from a 1993 peak.
Americans are much safer than they used to be, but mass shootings on campus are a greater threat.
The dramatic decline in gun-related crimes isn’t as well-publicized, especially as mass shootings receive extensive media coverage and data gets cherry-picked by both sides to support their arguments.
Concerns have been ramped up in Texas since the Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon has added scrutiny on a Texas law that will allow conceal-and-carry on campuses in 2016.
The basic presence of guns on campus is cause for concern to those professors, even though gun crime committed by permit-holders for conceal-and-carry is extremely low.
Despite the data, a root aversion to guns at a university campus drives the debate. Gun anxiety plays a bigger role, and the consequences of emotion in the debate over guns, safety, and campus has important implications on the modern university and the safety of students, faculty, and support staff.
