Citizens provide commentary on recent gun debate

By Mariam Elhommoud
mme39@txstate.edu



SAN MARCOS, Texas — In light of recent debate, the San Marcos community shares differing
opinions on whether public school teachers should be allowed to conceal handguns in classrooms.

Since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, safety in schools and stricter
gun control has been a rising topic in society. However, with the recent tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in February, people are pressing for action stronger than ever.

According to NPR, President Trump has openly shown support for funding to train teachers to use
and conceal guns in classrooms on a volunteer basis. Following his statement, a debate arose on whether this would be the right move.

           Rebekah Perez

Photo by Mariam Elhommoud

Rebekah Perez, a Psychology major, believes that guns in classrooms would not make a difference in the event of a shooting, and would only serve to negatively affect the school environment.

“I think that teachers should not be able to have guns where kids are regularly, and the fact that most
schools have on-duty police officers guarding their school makes guns in a classroom irrelevant,” said Perez. “If you’re going to have the police there already, there’s no need for every teacher to have a gun in his drawer."

       Joseph Losoya

Photo by Cole Sanchez

Joseph Losoya, a Texas State Alumni and military veteran, states how teachers may not react properly in an emergency due to lack of experience.

“Just because you can shoot a gun doesn’t mean you can handle that situation. It’s going to be chaos,
a lot of kids running around, it’s very unorganized … they’re probably going to hit a student,” said Losoya.

                E.J. Badu

Photo by Mariam Elhommoud

E.J. Badu, a Business student, had similar views toward the subject.

“Being a teacher is a high-stressful job, so why would you give that person a gun? No, that doesn’t sound good at all,” said Badu.

On the opposite side of the debate, some believe that providing teachers with guns and training experience will improve the problem of school shootings exponentially.

In a recent CNN article, a school district in Arkansas was highlighted for training a dozen teachers
and staff members to use guns, instead of paying the same price for one extra security guard. Many school districts in other states have followed their lead.

Lynell Richter

Photo by Shanell Smith

Lynell Richter, a Public Administrations major, thinks teachers having guns is a good idea, as long as they are trained and they actively want to do it.


“I actually grew up in a small town … they didn’t have guns in the classroom, but just about every vehicle had at least one gun in it. Never had a shooting on campus, never had anyone come on campus with a gun … there was no accidental shootings because everybody that had a gun had the education to use it properly,” said Richter.

Sarah Ferrell

Photo by Raegan Babb

Sarah Ferrell, a future teacher, stated that having a gun would help protect her students in the classroom in the case of a school shooting. “I don’t think it will necessarily prevent danger, but I do think if something were to ever happen it would better the outcome,” said Ferrell.

Derek Cartey

Photo by Alyssa Pierce

Derek Cartey, Entrepreneurship major, had mixed feelings on the subject altogether.

“It’s a touchy subject to be honest. A part of me feels like it’s necessary and also a part of me feels like there should be gun restrictions at the same time.”

Readers can learn more on this topic by accessing articles from sites such as USA Today and Pew Research Center.

Arming teachers: a possible solution to the gun problem

By Ashley Bowerman

Atb63@txstate.edu

SAN MARCOS, Texas – In conjunction with the recent school shootings in the United States, President Donald Trump and members of Congress met at the White House on Feb. 22 to propose the idea of arming teachers K-12 in an effort to solve the debate on gun laws.

Following the death of 17 students at the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Americans are demanding for a change to be made to our current gun policies. Arming our teachers as a means of protection in schools has become a national debate. Who should source the funding to properly train our teachers has been another topic of discussion. Some civilians side with the idea of banning guns altogether in America or more closely monitoring who can purchase a firearm.   

According to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey, 55 percent of U.S. adults are against the idea of teachers carrying guns in K-12 schools. However, a considerable amount of 45 percent are in favor of arming teachers in school.  

Otto Glenewinkel
Photo by: Ashley Bowerman

The students and faculty at Texas State have mixed views about teachers carrying guns on grade school campuses.   

Texas State Police Officer Otto Glenewinkel said that teachers should not be in ones in charge of keeping students safe on campus.

“Teachers aren’t the ones who should be securing the schools,” Glenewinkel said. “You hire trained professionals, equip them properly, train them properly and put them in the schools to do the job of protecting the students, the staff and the faculty.”

Sarah Ferrell
Photo by: Raegan Babb

Some civilians say that teachers should carry firearms. An FBI study identified 21 out of 160 incidents where unarmed citizens were faced with protecting themselves and others against an active shooter. 11 of the 21 incidents were school staff members. This study supports the importance of training teachers with firearms to better protect students and staff during a school shooting.   

Sarah Ferrell, an early education major at Texas State, said that as a future educator she would want a gun to protect her students in the classroom.

Ferrell said, “Personally, since I’m going to be a teacher, I feel that guns should be allowed for teachers … [if] something happened and we did have a school shooting, I would want to have some way to protect my kids in the classroom and not just be helpless.”

Jayla Dunbar
Photo by: Dymond Sam 

An article from the Washington Post says that the one-fifth of all teachers that Trump estimates will agree to carry a gun must undergo training that is estimated to cost $1,000 per trainee. This rounds the total cost of training teachers to an estimated $718 million. Whether the funding comes from American tax dollars or the teachers themselves has become another controversial topic.

Jayla Dunbar, a communication studies major at Texas State, said that the money to carry a gun should be provided by the people who are advocating to arm teachers.  

“I feel like if you want to carry a gun you should pay for it. Because I don’t feel like me as a taxpayer [should] have to pay for it because it’s not something I believe in,” Dunbar said.  

The issue with guns seems to largely be an American phenomenon. A source told CNN that while the U.S. is about 5 percent of the world’s population, it encompasses 31 percent of all public mass shootings. Perhaps a solution to the gun problem is reducing the number of guns in circulation and not putting more armed people into schools.

Vangelis Metsis
Photo by: Dymond Sam 

Vangelis Metsis, a computer science professor at Texas State, was born and raised in Greece. He said that the gun violence in America, compared to other countries, verifies why action needs to be taken against gun laws.

“There needs to be a change,” Metsis said. “You can just compare it with what happens in other countries where there are no guns allowed to the general public, and the rates of mass shootings are almost zero.” Metsis said, “Not having access to guns, I think that’s the reason for it.”

Darius Partee
Photo by: Shanell Smith

Some argue that more efforts should be made to reduce the number of people with mental health issues that have access to guns. An analysis of survey results estimated that nearly 1 in 10 adults has access to firearms that also have a problem with anger and impulsive behavior.

Texas State student Darius Partee said that anger management is an important factor to consider before handing a teacher a gun.

Evan Brieden
Photo by: Dymond Sam 

“I think anger management is number one,” Partee said. “I have teachers walk out of class sometimes because they are that upset. Imagine if they could just walk to their desk and

grab a [gun].”

The recent shootings have had varying degrees of impact on students at Texas State.

Student Evan Brieden says that though the recent shootings are misfortunate, he stands by his right to bear arms.

 “Though I do believe they are a terrible national tragedy, it didn’t change my views on our gun control. I just think we need to have more regulation on who can get them,” Brieden said.

To take part in the nationwide protests regarding our countries gun laws, visit the March For Our Lives website. Visit the 30 gun reform actions you can take now website for ideas on how to share an opinion on arming teachers K-12.

   

Conflict surrounds arming teachers K-12 in the classroom

By: Blair Richmond

Email: sbr54@txstate.edu

SAN MARCOS, Texas – A new debate has begun regarding whether to allow teachers K-12 to have a concealed firearm in the classroom.

After the Parkland, Florida school shooting on Feb. 14, national controversy over gun laws and school safety has emerged. The conversation introduces adding more protection to schools by giving teachers the option to handle a concealed carry weapon.

In a study conducted by Pew Research Center, more than half of U.S. adults would not be in favor of allowing teachers to handle a fire arm in school.

Otto Glenewinkel
Photo Credit: Dymond Sam

Texas State University Police Officer, Otto Glenewinkel, believe teachers already hold enough responsibility in the workplace.    

"I don't think [teachers] need to be worrying about keeping the school safe ... You hire trained professionals, equip them properly, train them properly, and put them in the school to do the job of protecting the students, the staff and the faculty," said Glenewinkel.

Blake Mitchell
Photo credit: Kathryn Willis

However, Texas State student Blake Mitchell said he believes teachers should be able to effectively defend students if there is an active threat to student safety.

“I feel like schools without security guards means that no one can protect against a school shooter. By the time a cop or anyone else could get there to help, it would be too late. Teachers or administrators could at least scare or defend students before anyone else could make it to the scene, preventing more deaths," said Mitchell.

Nearly 200 school districts in Texas already allow teachers to carry a concealed firearm, according to an article by USA Today, under what is known as the Guardian Plan.

Funding for teachers to handle a concealed weapon although is expensive. According to data by the Department of Education, in Maryland it would cost nearly $71.8 million to train 3.6 million teachers gun safety, with a minimum cost of $100 per teacher.

Nathaniel Mendoza
Photo credit: Shanell Smith

Texas State student and applied math major, Nathaniel Mendoza, said that funding teachers for gun safety training should be a shared effort.

"I don’t think that taxpayers should have to pay the full amount but, it’s your kids, your community, you should help pay," said Medoza.

Jayla Dunbar
Photo credit: Dymond Sam

Texas state student and communication studies major, Jayla Dunbar holds a difference stance on the issue, saying it is should be an individual gun owner cost.

“I feel like if you [want to] carry a gun you should pay for it, because I don’t feel like me as a taxpayer [should] have to pay for it, because it’s not something I believe in," said Dunbar.

Katrina Greggs
Photo credit: Cole Sanchez

Katrina Greggs, a psychology major at Texas State University, said the issue regarding gun violence is more related to mental a health problem in her opinion.

"I don’t have a lot of extensive knowledge, but it seems more like the people in the mass shootings are a cry for help more than anything and I don’t know that more guns are the solution. Not that I have a problem with them, but I think that’s really sad, I’ve seen videos of shelters in classrooms and I think that’s terrible having to practice drills like that and have a shelter assuming something like that is just going to happen one day," said Greggs.

Americans are still unsure whether implementing tougher gun ownership laws would reduce gun related violence at all, according to an article from The Guardian.

Vangelis Metsis
Photo credit: Dymond Sam

Vangelis Metsis, computer science system professor at Texas State, said that many other countries do not have much gun violence, compared to America, because of the strict gun laws that are in place.

"I come from a country, Greece, where there are no incidents of mass shootings really. There could be individual shootings when there are two bad guys shooting each other ... but there are no cases of mass shootings," said Metsis. "Not having access to guns, I think that’s the reason for it.”

Debate continues on finding a suitable solution to help protect schools and students more efficiently. Law makers and public officials have not made any current changes in gun ownership policy.

Arming teachers in K-12 with firearms

Arming teachers in K-12 with firearms

Tierra Cole

trc72@txstate.edu

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Following the most recent school shooting in  Parkland, Florida, American citizens and Education professionals are having the conversation of arming teachers and other alternatives for protecting students.

Many feel conflicted with arming teachers because of outlying factors that determine someone's mental capability and amount of training that may be required to prepare for a shooting. However, the common concern that brings everyone together is how to better protect students.

Shannon Fitzpatrick Photo by Christopher Green

While some schools do not allow open carry others have already implemented a policy to allow teachers to bring guns to school. According to USAToday, Texas is one of the states that has allowed some teachers to carry guns in school.  A policy created by the Texas Association of School Boards allows 172 out of 1,023 school districts to allow staff to carry firearms.

While some support teachers being able to carry firearms, others such as Texas State University Attorney for Students, Shannon Fitzpatrick, feel adamantly opposed. She said the purpose of a handgun is to kill other human beings.

Evan Brieden Photo by Dymond Sam

“Most teachers are not prepared to do that, it’s not their mindset, which is what makes them good school teachers,” said Fitzpatrick. “Secondly, professionals such as the police force trains on a regular basis for emergency situations.”

Texas State student Evan Brieden does not think arming teachers would help resolve school shootings however he believes in the right to bear arms.

“I’m not sure if I would feel entirely supportive or not, though I do believe we have the right to bear arms and it’s in our needs and a part of our rights. I don’t think arming teachers would help resolve the problem. I think you need to start with the root of psychological help in regards to the school shootings recently, as opposed to arming teachers,” said Brieden.  

Otto Glenewinkel Photo by Dymond Sam

Texas State University Police Officer Otto Glenewinkel said that school’s hired and trained professionals should be the ones allowed to be armed to protect students.

“Equip them properly, train them properly, and put them in the schools to do the job of protecting the students, the staff and the faculty,” said Glenewinkle. “Hire the right people, and give them the right weapons. Metal detectors, you know, have them walk through it.”

Some future teachers are preparing to be in the classroom such as Daniel Verasa who is studying at Texas State

Daniel Verasa Photo by Tierra Cole

University to become a teacher for English and social studies. Verasa likes the idea of having a system that alerts if there is an intruder, however, believes the system may be to expensive.

“I’ve seen a couple videos where they just have an automated system when an intruder would go in but I think it’s just really expensive so I don’t think if teachers aren’t getting paid enough right from the start why would they want to install millions of dollars in technology and equipment just to keep kids safe," said Verasa.

Hannah Guerrero Photo by Tierra Cole

Texas State student Hannah Guerrero said she came from a high school that had metal detectors.

“Every once in a while we found a student with a gun and I understand it takes a lot out of a morning but it really did help with security purposes. If it’s something that needs to be implemented in all schools so be it,” said Guerrero.

From CNBC and according to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are nearly 3.6 Million teachers in America. Providing training and supplying materials for these teachers is a concern that comes up when discussing arming teachers. Some people feel like taxpayers dollars should be spent on supplying other resources for students such as future teacher and geography major, Julian Salazar, who said he would rather not be armed with a gun.

Julian Salazar Photo by  Shanell Smith

“I would prefer the money would be put in to getting supplies for students verses guns. Like I think that would be more beneficial for my students instead of me having a gun for the chance that it might need to be used. I think it could be diverted to better resources right now,” said Salazar.

To join the conversation and find more information on protecting students of America from gun violence check out the National Education Association's website where you can read on three keys to school safety. You can also contact your members of congress on gun violence prevention located on the side bar of the article or click here.