This is an op-ed in the University of Texas campus paper.

Interestingly, the author writes, “One of the characteristics that make our University grounds so pleasant is that violence, and the threat of violence, are almost nonexistent.” Perhaps she’s unaware of what happened in 1966 when Charles Whitman killed 14 people and wounded 32 during a campus shooting spree? Or that just five years ago in 2010, a UT student fired off several round from an AK-47 (he was on campus, mind you) then turned the gun on himself, taking his own life?

She also posits that, “more guns are only likely to create more fear and danger” a suggestion without evidence and usual the song of those without familiarity with fire arms. Also usually the “guns magically kill people on their own” crowd.

It’s probably because she lives in this magical special space of platitudes and naiveté though, “I count on the fact that they [students] are not armed, and they count on the same from me. We are part of a special space for inquiry, removed from the violence and even the individual freedom of ordinary society.”

But we believe in diversity of opinion and so we’re happy to share the other side of the campus carry argument.

Jessica Lin writes at The Daily Texan:

UT does not need more guns on campus

Our college campuses are plagued with numerous problems, but the shortage of guns is not one of them. No one walks around our campus thinking: “I wish the students and faculty had more guns.” One of the characteristics that make our University grounds so pleasant is that violence, and the threat of violence, are almost nonexistent. Universities offer a free and open space where people can explore, interrogate and debate. They are designed to be places of scholarly interaction, free from all weapons. They should remain that way.

Texas is one of numerous states where interest groups and some legislators are pushing to repeal university limits on firearms. Why are they doing this? What is the motivation?

The call for firearms on campus is, unfortunately, not about universities at all. Gun advocates believe they have a legitimate claim about Second Amendment rights to bear arms in public, and they are motivated to strike against all restrictions on that asserted right. Universities stand out because they occupy large spaces in our cities and towns, and they generally restrict gun possession on their territory. In addition, universities are familiar targets for advocates of individual freedom who distrust large institutions, elites and higher education. The restrictions on gun possession look to these critics like they are part of a broader conspiracy against the rights of ordinary people.

The only conspiracy, however, is against the very idea of education in our society. From its inception, Americans have valued the classroom as much as the gun. The first settlers opened schools, and wherever Americans have gone – within North America and abroad – they have created new schools at all levels, including universities. Americans have seen schools as civilizing institutions, designed to teach citizens how to think and contribute productively to the broader needs of society. Despite our democracy, schools have existed as heavily regulated spaces designed to preserve the interests and needs of students. That has meant strict state requirements for mandatory attendance in middle school and high school, tight rules for attire and behavior at all levels and various rules for admission, testing and graduation. Citizens are not free to act on campus grounds as they do in other public spaces. Educational spaces have always been protected and regulated in special ways, within reason, to preserve a safe and effective learning environment.