New Law : Security Enforcement Practices

A graduate student leaving an evening class walks along the poorly lit sidewalk to the parking lot—it is a long, cold walk in the pitch-black night, and the student grows wary as shadows begin lurking in the distance. Suddenly, someone jumps out in front of the student, immediately threatening her with force. Before the student can react, she is raped and robbed. This is a very scary scenario, and one that happens on the SCSU campus every year. It seems like every week we get an e-mail citing another attack on students somewhere on or near campus. However, all of these attacks could be prevented if we allow students to carry guns as a means of self-defense.

Most students are filled with excitement about their new lives on campus, but they don’t know the dark horrors and dangers that could lay ahead of them. Many have wondered why have these disruptions happened now though, but they are just simply uninformed of college campus’ dark past. Crime in college has always been here. One main place where violence flourishes is the Greek Societies. The first modern fraternity began in 1825, but the violence didn’t begin until the 1990’s. This was the same time when concerns of binge drinking and hazing began (Mantel). What crime are campuses facing exactly? Some problems include: rape, hazing, corruption in the Greek Societies, and gun violence. What is causing these crimes? “As

Date rapes, hate crimes and theft have become an apparent concern on college campuses. The most disturbing crime on a college campus is a school shooting. Being a victim of any crime is the last thing any student or parent thinks of when choosing a college or university. The possibilities of danger on a college campus have been increasing over the years due to the reported crimes ranging from theft to murder. Because of the recent years of college campus reported shootings, both student and parent have become alarmingly concerned about

It would be wrong to say violence ends when you turn the television off or act as if injustice didn’t exist anymore, but if you reflect back on 2016 so far, one of the biggest topics that often dominates the news and blogosphere concerned the high frequency of assaults on college campuses around the country. In the place where many young adults begin to learn who they are and who they want to be while enjoying a comfortable freedom and safety among their peers discovered freedom and safety could not always be guaranteed.

On April 16th 2007 at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, a student with psychological problems began a two hour killing spree that left 33 dead (Reader). The massacre that occurred at this school is now the worst recorded incident in the history of the United States and eclipses the University of Texas massacre of 1966. In the wake of tragedies like these, students, teachers and administrators propose more measures to make us feel safe on campus. But why weren't these measures in place before? School administrators and police have a responsibility to protect their students and faculty on campus, and these instances clearly shown a lack of fulfilling that responsibility. And yet several campus' refuse to allow law-abiding and

Situations like the Virginia Tech incident and the Colombine massacre happened because people with guns found places where they knew nobody else would be able to shoot back. Only police can respond at that point and by the time police arrive to settle the situation, many lives have already been lost. Allowing more people like students and staff access to concealed firearms on school campuses, the magnet that pulls criminals towards places like schools would be detached. Charlie Collins, a Republican state legislator who wrote the campus concealed-carry bill said, "This has been a bad year for campus killings, and it's a problem that's not going away," he said. "One thing that can help reduce it, and help save the lives of our loved ones on college campuses, is eliminating the magnets that exist for these crazy killers." (Collins and

Texas, along with several other states signed a bill allowing concealed carry of firearms on campus, believing “that mass murderers target gun-free zones, including colleges and universities that ban firearms on campus” (Defilippis & Hughes). Furthermore, it is stated that gun advocates not only believe that firearms could obviate massacres on campus but also prevent sexual assault. Defilippis and Hughes argue that claims such as these are flawed and ignore the risks that come with allowing students and faculty to carry guns on school

On November 4, 2015 at approximately 0800 PST a UC Merced California college student wielding a knife caused harm and fear during morning classes. Ultimately the attacker wounded four people before police arrived and were forced to use deadly force to stop the attacker. The attacker later died from the wounds sustained. The quick police response was a result of the college having its own police officers on campus.

How would you feel if you sent your children to school... and they never came back? School shootings used to not occur very often, but since 1999, when the United States Student Massacre began, there has been a major rise in the amount of school shootings in the United States. In just the eighteen months after the Sandy Hook shooting there was a total of 74 school shootings in the United States (Fantz, Knight, and Wang). Having that many school shootings in such a short period of time is outrageous and something must be done. An investigation into the United States Student Massacre (School Shooting Movement) will be able to teach teachers, students, and others about

The tragic events at Virginia Tech in April of 2007 and Northern Illinois University in February of 2008 have policymakers, campus officials and citizens looking for solutions to prevent future attacks (Dickerson). Violent shootings that have occurred on a few college campuses in recent years have provoked a debate over

Every day students across the country wake up and go to school seeking an education. They learn basic skills and knowledge from classes such as English, math, biology, physics, photography and so many other classes that prepare students for adulthood. However, what is most alarming is that students have to cope with violence that is now occurring in schools. In the past, school violence involved bullying and mistreatment, but in recent decades weapons are now a part of the violence students encounter. Violence is a way for youth to gain authority over their peers. Additionally, violence in schools has promoted a national debate on gun control, bullying and plagued the overall learning experience in school environments. Not only do people need

Over the last two and half decades, campus crime as a social issue has come to the forefront of public attention and is regularly reported in both print and electronic media. Specific and general legislation has also been passed in order to prevent campus crime from occurring as well as to educate those who are either in danger of victimization or have the ability to prevent victimization and assure that justice is done. However, campus crime is not a new issue in regard to its occurrence, only in that it has finally attracted both public and media attention. Furthermore, Sloan III and Fisher (2011) suggest that this movement to recognize and prevent the occurrence of crime on college and university campuses (known throughout this book as the dark side of the ivory tower) did not pop up overnight. Instead, they argue that through a long and arduous process, four different activist groups were able to socially construct the problem as a proper and pertinent social issue, and influence legislation designed to curb campus crime, and hold those responsible, accountable for their action or inaction.

remains the most unresolved issue on campus [in the US] today” (Bikson & Law p. 91). Frequent campus reports of racially-motivated hate crimes imply that this remains a huge issue. Proponents

Violence in our schools is an issue that has become more prominent in the last few years. News articles about violent deeds within the school setting are on the increase. Our society demands that schools are safe for our children. In order to maintain a peaceful environment for all, we must address and inform our schools, children, and parents as well as the neighboring communities about the issue of school violence. As David W. Johnson, the author of Reducing School Violence states, “To eliminate violence and resolve destructive conflicts, schools must first admit that such conflicts are out of control.” (Johnson 7) Schools in general must identify with these issues in order to deal with them.

School violence, in recent history, seems to have taken the United States by storm. Be it a shooting, such as the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, the inappropriate relationships between teacher and student, such as Stephanie Figueroa whom initiated one such relationship with her 11-year-old karate student, or the multiple fights we see on social media that take place in schools. With each passing week, we see a new story that falls in one of these categories. Today, we look at the types of, causes of and how to prevent violence in what should be a safe place and second home for our youth.