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November 16, 2004
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Photo courtesy of Rebecca Straughmatt |
Gender splits board on guns
Denise McDonald and Zahid Arab
Mesa Legend
As the firearms debate continues to swing back and forth between supportive and opposing sides, the Maricopa Community College Governing Board President, Linda B. Rosenthal, firmly upholds her stance on this controversial issue, based on requests from safety officers.
Rosenthal, who supported the proposal in the past, believes safety of students, especially those who are female, is her main concern.
“Men don’t feel unsafe like women do. Women are fearful of any incident possibly happening,” said Rosenthal.
She explained, “my attitude hasn’t changed and if our security officers want to be armed, I think they should have that ability to protect.”
The proposal to arm college safety officers on campus was tabled once and then later turned down in a three to two vote, with all three of the votes against this issue coming from male Governing Board members.
According to Rosenthal, Governing Board member Scott Crowley, newly appointed in February, could possibly be the deciding factor concerning the issue.
With its prominence on the Action meeting agenda coming soon, Governing Board members are awaiting the results of a report issued by a safety committee appointed by Chancellor Rufus Glasper.
This select group of individuals, comprised of administrative deans, faculty members and other experts, will unveil the results of their research in the near future, said Rosenthal.
When asked whether or not arming certified college safety officers would have any future ramifications for those who attend MCC, Rosenthal stated the only change would be these officers feeling safer while doing their jobs.
Despite the fact that College Safety reported only three arrests on campus last year, Rosenthal believes necessary precautions should still be taken.
“Crimes happen every day,” she said, “even though there are a lot of police on the street, that doesn’t mean that I don’t lock my door.”
So what would arming the Certified College Safety Officers entail? Lynn Bray from MCC’s College Safety explained that each officer would be armed with a reasonable handgun, possibly a 9mm.
Bray noted that many police departments use Glock guns. The handgun in consideration is appropriate for the campus. According to Bray, women feel comfortable using it, yet it would still serve the purpose of ensuring safety.
Because they are currently unarmed, the college safety officers would also have to update their APOST training.
This training would be an approximately two to three day event where shooting requirements would be met.
The expected cost for arming the officers is about $300-$400 for the handgun. The total expected cost is about five-hundred dollars per officer.
The officers would be trained to use the weapons, however, they wouldn’t necessarily use them.
Officers always use the minimal force required and only use weapons in dire situations.
There are methods, such voice commands, to defuse situations. Bray recalled that in his 20 years of police service, he had never fired his weapon out of training.
“The only time you can use deadly force is to protect your life, or the life of someone else,” said Bray.
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