Our view: The university should register each concealed carrying student

With Legacy Hall sprouting up, turf fields being rolled out, recreational fields blanketed with concrete, and a new Mass Communication wing in the works, change has been constant on campus this past year. However, none of these changes are quite as significant as Senate Bill 11, offering concealed carry on Texas campuses. With a campus that primarily leans red, surrounded by rural communities, concealed carry can be intimidating and nerve wracking both to incoming students and their parents.

University officials have done a great job providing information to both students and parents, online and in orientation, but more can be done. After the June 12 shooting in Orlando, the information released subsequently showed the shooter’s ease of purchasing a small arsenal — and the FBI still took him off of their watch list. To know that it was that easy for someone to purchase that many firearms and ammunition without a hint of suspicion is frightening. To ensure a safer campus, the university should utilize its new safety app by making concealed carrying students register into a database. If police respond to an alert through the app, they would know if the person they are approaching is carrying or not.

Now we aren’t saying this will magically stop potential shooters. However, if officials have a better idea of how many students are carrying and who they are, current students will feel safer, and bringing in prospective students would become easier. Not to mention, campus police would appreciate having an idea if the person they are approaching in response to an alert is carrying.