Gun Violence on Campus

Students’ Safety on Campus: A Constant Threat of Gun Violence

Students on campus are under a constant threat of gun violence. Gun violence that ends in mass shooting, physical bullying, and other forms of crimes are common challenges that students face on a daily basis on campus across the US. Most students are worried because of the escalating uncertainty for campus safety, as anything can happen that can not only lead to extreme injuries but also the loss of lives. The constant threat of shootings as has been witnessed in the recent past is a situation that has compelled most students to fail attending lectures on campus because of the fear for their lives (Bridges, 2013).

The Impact on Academic Performance

Although missing to attended classes is not the right decision capitalized on by students, it is better because going to school appears like deliberately exposing one’s life to harm’s way. However, for students who have overcome their emotional and psychological fears to stay in school, such students hardly concentrate on their academic work because their minds are often thinking of the potential sudden attack that could claim student lives. Therefore, because of the constant curiosity, fear, and uncertainty, students on campus do not dedicate the whole time to their academics; hence most would end up performing poorly because of the diverted attention.

The Menace of Gun Violence on Campuses

Gun violence has been rated as the most threatening vice to campus and college students in America. Even high school students are under constant pressure because mass killings have been reported before. On the contrary, most campuses in the US have been declared as gun-free zones, meaning those who own guns are not allowed to carry firearms on campus (Newswire & Apr, 2014). Consequently, when it comes to dangers related to weapons on campus, a tradeoff has been achieved by the policymakers — the gun-free zones witness lesser gun-related crimes than in places where gun accessibility is not restricted. The buffer zone has been essential in maintaining safety on campuses. Nevertheless, because students and staff are not armed, these groups of Americans become an easy target and hence the most vulnerable and defenseless people an attacker can get to deal with. In times of emergencies, campus students can hardly do anything to raise their defense because of the buffer zones that do not allow carrying weapons on campus. As such, school and college shootings are a real problem in America today.

The Alarming Statistics

From 2013 to date, there have been at least 223 shootings both in schools and colleges (Bridges, 2013). Such is an alarming number which sends a stern warning to the safety of students in school. The reported 223 shootings hitherto happened in gun-free zones, meaning even without gun access on campus. Still, the students are exposed to danger. Out of the entire shooting spree, over 124 students were severely injured, while 56 lost their lives (Newswire & Apr, 2014). The incidences of gun shooting in America are on the rise, and both the teaching fraternity and the student community have lost hope for a fully-fledged safety framework in teaching institutions. Students from abroad who join American colleges and universities annually have developed fear because safety has been compromised in these institutions of higher learning.

The Debate: Gun Violence and Gun Control

The mainstream media and the American culture are on the heated exchange on the issue of gun violence and gun control on campuses. While the proponents of gun control laws argue that students should not be allowed to carry guns into the school compound, those opposed to the same have championed the need to enable students to carry weapons with them. Indeed, most critics believe that if students have guns within reach, the criminals who target students knowing that the latter is not armed would be deterred from making such killer attempts (Bridges, 2013). The political class and the media have therefore gotten into contentious arguments about what should be done and what should not, but the core of the problem remains, as most students are not attending lectures on campus and a majority who are on campus live in total fear of the unknown.

Towards a Technological Solution: Identification Verification Framework

Programs have been put in place to avert gun shootings and related violence on campus in vain. For instance, students have been trained in the recent past on how to avoid confrontations with armed criminals, while taking precautionary measures to stay safe, so that the number of casualties in circumstances of mass shootings can be reduced (Bridges, 2013). Furthermore, other college campuses have embraced more restrictive accessibility pathways to the school compound, such that strangers cannot enter the university without proper searching. Metal detectors, police patrols, constant confirmation on identity cards on campus, and searching at designated points are critical. Nevertheless, the challenge is that most gun violence incidents are isolated across the country. Hence the scattered experience makes it difficult for the security personnel to adapt to the situation and stay alert in a strategic position to combat the killers. The unknown patterns of shootings in the country have been likened to terrorist activities because though they are rare, at times when the shots take place, the loss is often unbearable. Consequently, the challenge of violence on campus and shootings has remained to be a perennial menace that needs an absolute solution to create a peaceful environment for not only the learners but also the teaching fraternity and their families.

A Technological Approach to Enhance Campus Safety

The solution to this contentious and perennial issue of gun violence on campus has to be addressed using a technological approach. Innovations, globalization, and technological inventions have shaped the twenty-first-century life anew, and hence applying this insightful knowhow is instrumental to avert the challenge of gun violence on campus, colleges, and schools. All students and the teaching, as well as non-teaching staff, would be required to use a programmed system of the identification verification framework. Accessing offices, classes, sanitary facilities, or other buildings on campus would require that an individual undergo identification verification first before the door automatically opens.

A software unique to every student’s smartphone has to be developed and installed on mobile handsets of the users. A program is a smart approach that has been previously tested on pilot studies in Vista College C (Heston, 2017). A student would be required to unlock the building door by tapping one’s smartphone over the lock (Heston, 2017). On the one hand, students could use their identity card for verification. On the other, this approach is a smart program; hence using phones is the most suitable approach. Furthermore, it should be noted that students can hardly lose or misplace their phones as it often happens with identity cards. Typically, intruders, strangers, and unidentified persons will be unable to access strategic buildings on campus unless someone has their smartphones installed with the software, cannot open before them. Hence they cannot access the premises, say hostels or classrooms where unarmed and innocent learners are. Using biometric devices like fingerprinting or iris identification could serve a similar purpose in a more sophisticated manner, but such could prove more expensive to maintain across many campuses. Therefore, this approach would be more cost-effective, secure, and reliable to avert gun shootings on campus.

References

Bridges, D. (2013). Prevention and reaction strategies for gun violence on campus. Journal of California Law Enforcement; 1998; 32, 3; ProQuest Central Pg. 9, 4(2), 1–56. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/gun-violence-prevention.aspx

Heston, T. F. (2017). A Blockchain Solution to Gun Control, 5(2), 1–45. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.cpcc.edu/central/docview/1963315424/95D5865D3FC941DBPQ/3?accountid=10008

Newswire, P. U. S., & Apr, W. W. (2014). Austin Moms , Gun Violence Survivors , And Lawmakers Gather To Launch New Group That Unites Moms , Mayors And Millions Of Americans To End Gun Violence : â€TM

Everytown for Gun Safety ’, 4(2), 1–24. Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/austin-moms-gun-violence-survivors-and-lawmakers-gather-to-launch-new-group-that-unites-moms-mayors-and-millions-of-americans-to-end-gun-violence-everytown-for-gun-safety-255500861.html