Question: Politics aside - please - what are the practical campus planning considerations for a university when anyone who comes on campus could be carrying a weapon? Looking across the campus in an integrated fashion, who and what is affected and should be considered in planning for such a change? Please share your thoughts in SCUP's LinkedIn group. Don't feel limited to security and liability issues. What are the student services and residence hall implications? Athletics?

The most notorious shooting at an Arizona university took place in 2002 when a disgruntled nursing student shot three professors to death.

Anthony Daykin, the police chief at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where the shootings occurred, said his officers would be at a loss if they arrived at a shooting scene in a lecture hall holding hundreds of students and found scores of people pointing, and possibly shooting, weapons at one another. ...

Keeping guns out, not allowing more in, is the answer, critics of the bills say. Others contend that allowing guns on campus will help ensure that universities stay relatively tranquil.

Mark Lacey, Lawmakers Debate Effect of Weapons on Campus, The New York Times

 

 A 'WorldWise' blog post at The Chronicle regarding the University of Arizona's support of its larger community earlier this month, and similar roles that other institutions play around the world in times of crisis:

I just couldn’t bring myself to grips with all that has happened in Tucson surrounding the shootings, without the university and its reinforced role as “glue” for the community. Crises that are due to a natural disaster, a pandemic, or the one which has recently taken place in Tucson provide good examples of the transcendent role that higher-education institutions can and must play. Fortunately, there have been many examples from around the world of this type of additional critical role that higher-education institutions and their leaders assume. That’s what happened on the island of Penang, Malaysia, when the Universiti Sains-Malaysia provided expertise and volunteer work for the reconstruction efforts after the tsunami devastated the region, or what happened in Mexico during the confusion generated by the H1N1 virus outbreak during which the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi served as a trusted source of information for the community, or what happened in Chile when the few buildings which remained standing at the University of Talca or those at University of Bio-Bio became community shelter centers. The list goes on and on.

Yes, there are four Australian universities affected by the flooding in Queensland, Australia: Griffith University, CQ University, the University of Queensland, and the Queensland University of Technology. 

They seem to be coping with the damage well, and are currently motivated to let international students and their families know that things are nearly back to normal. It helped that they were in their summer term.

This article, Essential Student Affairs Services in a Campus Crisis, in ACUHO-I's Talking Stick magazine by James E. Brunson III, Michael Stang, and Angela Dreesen, is a chapter in the new book, Enough is Enough: A Student Affairs Persepective on Preparedness and Response to a Campus Shooting, from ACPA/NASPA.

A good article/chapter, helping to make the case that student services input and preparation must be a key part of any campus crisis or emergency response plan:

Conclusion

This chapter highlights essential services needed in response to a campus crisis. Specific roles, functions, and use of staff and resources in departments and officers such as housing and dining, student activities, and international student services are defined.

Additionally, partnerships between essential services departments and other campus units and community agencies are emphasized. Of course, all student affairs departments and professionals can be integral in crisis response, but thoughtful preplanning and preparation for thees units can greatly enhance student services during a campus crisis.

The entire book can be purchased here.