At the University of Houston, the faculty senate suggested guidelines for teachers in response to Texas allowing guns on public campuses, stoking fears of a chilling effect on academic freedom.
The implementations of concealed carry on campus and how the university will respond isn’t completed, according to Inside Higher Ed, but a debate has flared over the proper response to the new law and whether the faculty has exaggerated the real-world effects of it.
The guidelines, prepared by Faculty Senate President Jonathan Snow, suggested faculty members should “be careful discussing sensitive topics,” “drop certain topic from your curriculum,” and to “not ‘go there’ if you sense anger,” among others.
The presentation also suggested arguments against campus carry. They ranged from “OK: ‘Any idiot can get a CHL, it’s just four hours of training and a test with a 70 percent pass and unlimited repeats’” to “Excellent: ‘Vigilante [j]ustice has no place in a [u]niversity.’”
“The university was quick to point out that the recommendations are not official university policy, but faculty members say the suggestions reflect how many of their colleagues are thinking about protecting themselves and their students under campus carry,” Colleen Flaherty wrote for Inside Higher Ed.
Campus carry across Texas in public colleges and universities won’t begin until August, and schools have been preparing students, staff, and faculty for its implementation.
Professors have argued that the law will make students and faculty less safe, and restrict the discussion of controversial ideas. Advocates of the law say that, similar to fears about concealed carry in general, citizens who carry are responsible and violence doesn’t increase after those laws get passed. Concealed-carry permit-holders have extremely low crime rates, but opponents cite anxiety and accidental discharges as reasons for keeping guns off campus regardless.
After the successful campus carry law in Texas, Republicans in Alabama and Missouri have signaled interest in making it legal in their respective states, while Texas Christian University, Rice University, and Baylor University, among others, have used their private status to opt out of the law.
