Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
NWACC staff meets about new gun law
BENTONVILLE — New legislation allowing people to carry guns on college campuses raises numerous policy-related issues at Northwest Arkansas Community College that “will be ironed out over the course of several years,” one official said.
Ethan Beckcom, director of institutional policy, risk management and compliance, told fellow employees Tuesday the college is forming a task force to figure out
how best to align its policies and procedures with the law.
Beckcom delivered the news during a meeting held to explain the law and its potential impact. It was the second of two such meetings the college this week.
“We want to walk out of here knowing pretty comfortably
what the specific language says,” Beckcom told the audience of about 50, including four college board members.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson last week signed into law House Bill 1249 allowing concealed-carry permit holders to bring guns on campus if they get up to eight hours of training beyond what is otherwise necessary to obtain a permit.
The law, also known as Act 562, takes effect Sept. 1. The task force will take time studying the matter and will recommend practices “that ensure we’re still very comfortable, this is still an environment that is very welcoming, and we can still have good dialogue in the classroom,” Beckcom said.
The new law states those who are lawfully carrying guns on campus aren’t required to notify anyone at the college. Diana Nagel, a faculty member, asked about that, saying in case danger presents itself on campus, it would help her to know in advance which of her students are carrying weapons.
Nagel said she’d like to ask her students to volunteer to share the information with her. Beckcom said that’s an issue the task force needs to address and devise guidance on.
“Because ultimately, how you choose to proceed as it relates to that in your classroom may be vastly different in other classrooms,” Beckcom said. “We need to ensure we’re doing every thing we can to balance safety on campus with individual rights and all things in between.”
Kate Burkes, director of distance learning, asked if a faculty
member somehow revealed they were carrying a weapon and a student felt uncomfortable with that, would the student be obligated to continue attending the class?
That’s something else the task force will have to address, Beckcom said. Several questions come into play in that scenario, including whether the burden falls on the college or the student to find a replacement course, he said.
The task force hasn’t met yet. It has about 15 members representing different departments on campus, Beckcom said.
Beckcom took time to point out various emergency notification systems the college makes available to employees and students. He also noted the college’s police force, members of which have accumulated more than 10,000 combined hours of training, he said.
“I hope you never find yourself in a situation where you have to call them, but if you do, I hope you don’t hesitate to do that,” he said.
Tim McGinn, Faculty Senate president, was among those attending Tuesday’s meeting. McGinn said he doesn’t sense faculty members are united in their opinions of allowing people to carry guns on campus.
“There are a lot of passions running high on both sides. People very happy they have the right now that the governor signed the law, and people [are] very unhappy that’s the case,” McGinn said.
McGinn added several faculty members surprised him when they informed him they are concealed-carry permit holders.
“They went through (the training) with their spouses. They were interested to know what was being taught, but also to be able to do it if they had to,” he said. “So I think it’s a mistake to characterize anyone as a gun-toting thug who wants to have a gun on campus.”
McGinn said he wasn’t aware of any faculty members at the college who were considering leaving because of the new law.
Act 562 applies to all space owned and leased by a public college or university; the only exception is facilities owned by school districts.
Beckcom said he had no way of knowing how many staff members or students might end up carrying guns on campus.
State Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, sponsored House Bill 1249. Collins has been a longtime advocate of such legislation in order to deter acts of severe violence on college campuses.
Collins in 2013 convinced fellow legislators to pass a law removing a blanket prohibition against carrying guns on campus, while allowing individual universities to adopt no-guns policies on an annual basis. Every institution since then chose to ban guns.
The last time the Northwest Arkansas Community College board voted on the matter was in April. The vote was 5-3 in favor of the administration’s recommendation to maintain the gun ban.