Out of the Frying Pan

One year has passed since April 16, 2007, when Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho went on a shooting rampage that left 33 of his classmates and faculty dead. In this time of reflection, sharp and painful memories from this tragedy have sparked calls for change from both sides of the gun-control debate: Pro-gun-control students have objected to the laws that allowed Cho access to a gun in the first place, and anti-gun-control advocates—including 25,000 members of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus— argue that students could have stopped the massacre in its early stages had they been allowed to carry concealed weapons. While the fear and frustration that gives rise to such an attitude is understandable, the idea of promoting safety by allowing more people to have guns simply defies logic.

Despite their seeming frequency in recent years, shooting rampages on college campus do not occur on a regular or daily basis. What does occur on a daily basis is the interaction between students and faculty. Bringing guns into this equation is unwise in the extreme. Fear of random attack from a single deranged student is one thing, and a dormitory full of potential gun-owners is entirely another. The knowledge that a disturbed classmate or a creepy professor may have a gun in his or her desk would completely contort relationships—everything would be tinged with a faint hint of menace and paranoia. Although the stringent criteria for gun ownership are supposed to weed out the irresponsible or deranged, we must remember that Seung-Hui Cho obtained his handgun in a perfectly legal manner.

In addition, the unique nature of a college community, with its intimate campus and close living quarters, make gun ownership additionally complicated. Such proximity implicates not only the gun owners, but also their roommates, neighbors, and friends by possessing a firearm. While a gun owner might be a completely responsible, law-abiding citizen, those around him may not share the same moderation or restraint, and the lack of a secure, safe space on campus results in a potential risk to all. Having a weapon on campus is a social contract with those who share living space—without the consent of one party, no such contract can be legitimate.

When it comes down to it, universities are supposed to be a safe haven were students can, for at least four years of their lives, study and grow without worrying about the peril of the outside world. Guns on campus, however, bring that very danger into the midst of a student’s living environment. In the aftermath of great terror like the Virginia Tech massacre, not only is heightened fear expected, but so too is the potential for hatred and vigilante retribution. Rather than succumb to such emotions, we can instead respect the memory of the dead by concentrating on healing.