Quinnipiac University, possible the quintessential CT institute of higher learning, has come to understand that they can best protect their students, faculty and staff with armed security personnel.
As reported by The Courant:
Quinnipiac University will soon have armed safety officers patrolling campus.
In a decision by the university's top administration, the senior public safety officers, retired state and local police who are familiar with law enforcement and the use of force, will start patrolling the university's three campuses at the beginning of this semester, which started Tuesday, according to officials.
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"The decision to arm senior public safety officers was made in accordance with our belief that nothing is more important than maintaining the safety and security of all members of the University community," Mark Thompson, executive vice president and provost, said in a memo that was emailed to the university community and posted on the university's internal web site Wednesday morning.
The new senior public safety officers will join the unarmed school safety officers that already patrol on foot and in cars at Quinnipiac's Mount Carmel Campus, which has 212 acres in Hamden; the York Hill Campus, also in Hamden, with its 234 acres; and the North Haven Campus's 104 acres, according to university spokesman John Morgan.
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"By having senior public safety officers on all three campuses," Thompson wrote, "response times to incidents requiring an armed officer will be shortened and the responding officer will be intimately familiar with the University."
And just in case one thinks this is an idea that could only appeal to an aged administrator worried about law suits, there is this:
Quinnipiac's student body president, Matthew Desilets, said students have reacted positively to the announcement of armed guards. He thanked the administration for looking out for students' well being.
"Changes to policies regarding the safety of our community should be proactive and preventative," Desilets said. "This is especially relevant today in light of the scare at the University of Oklahoma.
"I believe it will be an adjustment for students to get used to seeing armed guards, but these public safety officers are the trusted faces we have seen everyday for years."
Who would have thought it, college-aged Connecticut residents thinking armed security is a good idea when so many others in the state think it is a bad idea to arm campuses.
