The UH Faculty Senate approved a resolution Wednesday opposing the bill in the Texas House that would allow concealed handgun licensees to carry a concealed weapon on campus.
Law professor Seth Chandler authored the Faculty Senate’s resolution, which states that any increase in the number of people allowed to have weapons on campus would reduce the safety of students and faculty.
‘(Faculty members) are concerned about all forms of violence,’ Chandler said.’ ‘I’m hoping (the resolution) has some effect, and I’m hoping the legislature will take the faculty’s views into consideration.’
Chandler said permitting students and faculty members to bring guns to school would be a step in the wrong direction for UH.’
UH Police Department and the University have taken measures this semester to improve campus safety by emphasizing patrols, sending crime report emails and implementing an emergency alert system.
‘I think there’s a lot of things the University is doing for which it deserves credit,’ Chandler said. ‘I think the warning system is a good idea and while it doesn’t reduce the risk to zero, it does help reduce it.’
Improving campus safety could be accomplished with more security officers, if funding is made available for them, Chandler said.
UH students are allowed to carry legal, non-lethal means of protection on campus for their personal safety.
‘People can lawfully bring mace and Tasers on campus, and I have no problems with people doing that,’ Chandler said.’ ‘I am not an anti-gun type of person, but I really do think if you balance out the risks, we’re much safer with the laws as they are.’
Craig Pirrong, a finance and business professor, was the lone voter who opposed the UH resolution.
‘I take a very different view from most of my colleagues,’ Pirrong said.’ ‘I think concealed carry would deter some crimes on campus and provide deterrence to the mass shootings like at Virginia Tech.’
Pirrong cited conviction rates of concealed handgun license holders published by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Data from the past 12 years shows CHL holders represent less than half of 1 percent of Texas felons.’
Faculty members also considered a resolution on Gov. Rick Perry’s higher-education reforms.’ ‘
Perry’s reforms came in the form of a large list of objectives he wants implemented in universities across the state, said Wynne Chin, chairman of the University Faculty Executive Council, which represents all UH system schools.
Faculty members expressed concerns that the list of objectives does not consider individual universities situations or needs.
‘My question isn’t about goals. It’s just about (whether) we have to do these things explicitly as stated, and how can we do these things better,’ Chin said.’ ‘It’s not like one size fits all for public universities.’
The resolution was tabled after Provost John Antel said he would create a task force to look into the faculty’s concerns.
‘We believe in two key concepts – transparency and accountability,’ Chin said. ‘Antel has agreed to have a system-wide task force to assist him in working these issues out as opposed to him trying to do this by himself, and that’s very helpful.’
