2008 Woodie Awards
Should Campus Safety Be Armed?
Point/Counterpoint
Issue date: 9/26/07 Section: Opinion
POINT:
DAVID MCKINLEY
"With great power comes great responsibility."
The Bible, John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Spider-Man; they have all said the same thing in one way or another. The same statement should apply to anyone with power, from the president to a superhero, God or a campus safety officer.
In the light of recent events, such as the restraining of a student with a stun gun which occurred at UCLA and the University of Florida, the power of campus safety officers has most certainly been scrutinized.
Some students go so far as to say that campus safety officers should not be armed at all. Such a statement is ridiculous, if not down right blasphemous.
College students, of all people, should have learned by now to make decisions with logic rather than emotion.
When such an important group of civil servants comes under fire from those they are protecting, you begin to question what really has happened with the American educational system.
Under no circumstances should a campus safety officer be stripped of his or her defensive weapons; weapons not meant for the officers' own protection, but for the people being educated in the hallways that he or she protects. Granted, one or two students might get stunned for being a little too loud or a little too annoying, but I think we all learned how to act around people with a badge from a very young age.
Those who defend us are to be treated with respect, whether they are overzealous power fiends or not. If a student decides to get out of line when someone in uniform puts them in their place, they should be prepared to suffer the consequences.
The person in the uniform has a stun gun; the student does not. It doesn't take much college-level critical thinking to figure out that situation.
COUNTERPOINT:
JEREMIAH MAGAN
What could Campus Safety possibly need to be armed for? It's not like Fullerton College is a hotbed of violence and general disarray. I have never walked through the quad and seen a fight break out over who was sitting under what tree, and when.
DAVID MCKINLEY
"With great power comes great responsibility."
The Bible, John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Spider-Man; they have all said the same thing in one way or another. The same statement should apply to anyone with power, from the president to a superhero, God or a campus safety officer.
In the light of recent events, such as the restraining of a student with a stun gun which occurred at UCLA and the University of Florida, the power of campus safety officers has most certainly been scrutinized.
Some students go so far as to say that campus safety officers should not be armed at all. Such a statement is ridiculous, if not down right blasphemous.
College students, of all people, should have learned by now to make decisions with logic rather than emotion.
When such an important group of civil servants comes under fire from those they are protecting, you begin to question what really has happened with the American educational system.
Under no circumstances should a campus safety officer be stripped of his or her defensive weapons; weapons not meant for the officers' own protection, but for the people being educated in the hallways that he or she protects. Granted, one or two students might get stunned for being a little too loud or a little too annoying, but I think we all learned how to act around people with a badge from a very young age.
Those who defend us are to be treated with respect, whether they are overzealous power fiends or not. If a student decides to get out of line when someone in uniform puts them in their place, they should be prepared to suffer the consequences.
The person in the uniform has a stun gun; the student does not. It doesn't take much college-level critical thinking to figure out that situation.
COUNTERPOINT:
JEREMIAH MAGAN
What could Campus Safety possibly need to be armed for? It's not like Fullerton College is a hotbed of violence and general disarray. I have never walked through the quad and seen a fight break out over who was sitting under what tree, and when.
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