Safety statement ignores key details

In last week’s Technique article regarding on-campus concealed carry, President Peterson asked, “… what are the chances that we could actually use that weapon to defend ourselves?” The answer: certainly higher than if we are not carrying. And if he expects a student being attacked to reach into their pocket, pull out their phone and pull up their Jacket Guardian app, can he please explain why drawing a weapon would be out of the question?

He states that the crime numbers for Tech seem high because we report off-campus crime, which is reasonable, but the admission that it is largely an off-campus problem hurts his own arguments. By disallowing any and all carrying on campus, Tech is effectively disarming, proactively targeting, and further endangering off-campus students, the same ones that Tech is supposedly “bending over backward” to protect.

Violent crime is sure to increase as our poor economic situation continues. However, students are still discouraged from ensuring their own safety and are forced into relying on solely on the Hill and GTPD, who have offered no real solutions for the off-campus crime problem. I applaud both groups for keeping the actual campus extremely safe, but they continue to patronize and endanger off-campus students by infanticizing those who are capable of responsibly carrying a firearm.

Dane Kalejta

ISYE ‘10

Advertising