seamusTX wrote:Dwight K. Schrute wrote:I'd like to hear thoughts on the officer's comments from everyone;
He's between a rock and a hard place. His superiors, who can fire him, don't want weapons on campus. He has to enforce their rules. But it sounds like he is on the right side.
- Jim
Yep, sounds like his hearts in the right place, but he’s saddled with policy. Kudos to him for giving you that answers. After all, if you pass that on to the wrong folks in the administration, his life could get a lot more complicated…
As to the question “Should students be allowed to carry�, my answer is a resounding yes…and that includes classrooms.
But, in the present world, the campus policy is students can’t carry anywhere on school property, and that includes parking lots, and you are definitely aware of the rules.
So, as with most things in life, you have to make a decision, and rhetoric aside, there’s no clear cut answer in my mind.
It comes down to a trade off in possibilities/odds:
1. The odds you will need the weapon while traveling to or from campus
2. The odds you will be in a situation where you will need the weapon on campus, and the vehicle is close enough for you to gain access in time
3. The odds the campus police will have PC to believe you have a weapon in your car and initiate a search
4. The odds you get caught in a random search
This is really no different then the problem many employed Texans face every day…to carry, or not to carry…that is the question
The odds of 1 is probably statistically low. 2 and 4 are probably approaching extremely small numbers, and 3 is pretty much dependent on your actions when you disarm and your ability to keep your mouth shut.
It’s a classic risk management discussion. There are typically 2 parameters taken into account. What is the risk of the ___ (fill in the blank) happening, and what’s the penalty if it does.
If both risk and outcome are both low, then leave it alone…it’s not worth worrying about.
If risk is low, but outcome is very bad, then it’s worth looking at closer.
If both are high, then action is definitely required!
The problem here is options 1 & 4 fall into the low risk of happening category, but they both have potential for heavy penalties associated with them.
In 1, one possible worst case scenario is you end up robbed, injured, or dead…I call that bad.
But in 3 & 4, the risk of happening is low, but the penalty is you could be kicked out of school, with the end result being your total lifetime earnings could be severely impacted. As a minimum, you may have to find another school and be out your expenses.
While this is a good moral discussion, and one we should have, in the final analysis…for you…it becomes a risk trade-off decision. Just like for all the employees who are forbidden to have weapons in the place of work, to include their car in the company parking lot…and the decision is no easier for them.
Look close at your options, and then make up your mind. But remember, regardless of what anyone on this forum states they would do, you're the one who will have to deal with any outcomes of your decision. So make it rational, and leave the rhetoric out of it.
