Dear Mr. or Mrs. President,

Gun violence is a pertinent issue on American soil today. Multiple times a night will the news broadcast yet another shooting, another killer, another victim. Due the rise in shootings, gun violence is also prominent on college campus grounds. In 2016 alone, there were 52 university shootings in all, resulting in 30 dead and another 53 wounded. In order to prevent this, the amount of security on campus should be raised, and guns should be banned on all college grounds across the U.S. College should not be a place where people are afraid to step outside of their classroom, dorm, or cafeteria. By taking action, violence can be reduced alongside the corresponding death toll.

Prohibiting firearms on campus will result in a decrease of death and a rise in safety. Many of those who instigate murders on campuses are not outsiders -- but students. NBC News recalls of an shooting taken place on university grounds on August 1, 1966. The shooter, Charles Whitman, was a 25-year-old engineering student who follows this exact trend of being a student instigator. Whitman, a Marine-trained student at the University of Texas climbed to the 28th-floor observation deck of a campus clock tower, and “began firing on students and staff” (2). This same shooting has been one of the deadliest of mass shootings ever, not just the deadliest shootings on a university school campus. The same college, the University of Texas, has recently passed a law stating that it is legal for college students to bring handguns on the school’s property. Rather than bringing protection for staff and students, this law will allow other criminals such as Whitman to perform shootings. Revoking this law will not only protect students in the long run, but also refrain potential shooters from possessing guns and invoking violence in colleges.

Increasing campus security will create more jobs in the security field while improving student and staff safety simultaneously. It is apparent that university grounds are not heavily secured, and this places those who attend college campuses in danger. By securing campuses with security guards and other personnel, this will not only decrease the likelihood of someone on campus instigating violent attacks, but also create more jobs for those who are looking for a job in the field of protection. In 2009, only 5% of police themselves think that “allowing students to carry [guns] on campus would prevent any shootings” (3). A much bigger percentage of police, 89% in fact, believe that “the most effective and important way to deal with gun use on campus is to prevent the use of guns at all” (3). Police are the professionals who are trained in safety, and know more about it than the average person. Even the professionals agree that firearms should not be allowed on college campuses.

Finally, permitting the ownership guns on school grounds will create more problems rather than solve the current problems. A law was passed in Idaho State University that allowed the carrying of guns on campus, and a professor had a handgun in his pocket that “accidentally discharged in his pocket during a chemistry lab, shooting him in the leg” (3). This was not an act of violence at all, and there was no instigator to this situation -- but, by allowing guns in universities, accidents such as this are prone to happen. The point of allowing guns in colleges would be for ultimate protection as needed, but permitting them can cause other issues that can be easily solved by banning them altogether.

All in all, allowing firearms on university grounds is not solving the current issues of violence, but rather creating more problems that will need to be addressed. In three years, I plan to attend college, but should this trend hold true, I may have to end up reconsidering in order to protect my own life. Although, this trend can be prevented before then -- if guns are prohibited at schools, the number of death rates will decrease, safety among college staff and students will rise, and the chance for any sort firearm incident to occur -- whether accidental or intended -- will be eliminated.

I hope you take these facts into consideration, and thank you for reading.

Sarah H.,

Sophomore

Bibliography -

Opening Paragraph Statistics - “RT.com: America. "52 School Shootings so Far This Year Leave 30 Dead, 53 Injured." RT International. RT America, 10 Oct. 2015. Web. 20 Oct.” 2016.

Charles Whitman Information - “Lee, Trymaine. "New Texas Law Allows College Students to Carry Guns on Campus." NBC News. NBC News - U.S., 1 Aug. 2016. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.”

Idaho Professor’s Accidental Discharge, Police Disapproval of Guns in Colleges - “EverytownResearch. "Learn More about Guns on Campus Legislation."EverytownResearch.org. Everytown USA, 9 July 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.”