Public universities in Texas are trying to figure out how to deal with the new Campus Carry law. Some professors say guns in the classroom will hurt the learning environment.
The law doesn't go into effect until August 1st, but professors at the University of Houston started preparing guidelines for dealing with gun packing students.
The proposed guidelines (embedded at the bottom of this post) warn professors to steer clear of sensitive topics, don't "go there" if you sense anger and limit student access to instructors during off hours.
Jonathan Snow is the University of Houston Faculty Senate President.
"I don't think that we as faculty really have to worry about bullets flying in the classroom it's much more the everyday experience of classroom life that could be impacted."
At the University of Texas San Antonio political science professor Walt Wilson conducted a poll of faculty and concluded that 80 percent of the professors will feel less safe with campus carry.
The faculty don't want to allow guns on most premises that we asked about. The faculty feel strongly 64% that campus carry will hinder their ability to be effective teachers."
But Sean Gillen, a freshman at UTSA and a criminal justice major, says these reactions are overblown. And when the new law goes into effect little will change in the classroom.
"What I think is going to happen is that school is going to open and people are going to go to classes. People wouldn't be freaking out about this if it weren't so highly publicized."
Guests:
- Walt Wilson, Professor of Political Science at the University of Texas San Antonio
- Jonathan Snow, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Science at the University of Houston
- Sean Gillen, freshman at UTSA
