UT Student’s Take on Concealed Carry on Campus

As a UT student who cares about campus safety , I feel compelled to address the assertions that UT President Bill Powers expressed in his Op-Ed letter to the Austin-American Statesman. He clearly isn’t representing all UT students with his position on this issue. 

President Powers made it clear that he is entrusts the safety of UT students and faculty to the UTPD, but I do not. I find it difficult to imagine UTPD responding in the critical seconds needed to stop a shooting spree from happening. In fact, UTPD admits this fact themselves. Eugene Rugala, an FBI supervisor and special agent, acknowledges the impossibility of such a quick response on a video that can be found on the UTPD website.  

President Powers also makes the assertion that the stress of college mixed with alcohol and concealed weapons will lead to deadly consequences. If this is the case, then I challenge President Powers to show me one case of this incident taking place in West Campus, where stress, alcohol, and Concealed Carry have all mixed since 1995.  

The third, and most outrageous, assertion made by President Powers is that concealed carry would limit free speech by intimidation. There is absolutely no merit to this claim. Concealed carry on campus will not allow students to wave their .38 Specials in the air any time they disagree with a professor or peer, and claims that it will disrupt the learning process is unfounded. 

I hope President Powers will reconsider his opposition to concealed carry on campus and advocate for the safety of UT students and faculty.