Usually this week my column would be something related to Valentine’s Day—I hate to break my tradition of writing some kind of love- or relationship-related story a week later than everyone else, but after Steve Kazmierczak walked onto the Cole Hall stage in the lecture hall at Northern Illinois University, I guess I just don’t feel like it anymore.
Five school shootings since the beginning of the month. It makes me positively furious to think of disturbed, angry, individuals committing such acts of evil. But it makes me angrier to think that the 150 people in that classroom had no recourse but to cower behind their seats or flee and get shot in the back by a madman.
By all indications, police responded to calls at Cole Hall in less than four minutes—an outstanding response time. But when seconds counted, it still took them minutes. And that’s not a criticism of them; no one else could have done any better.
Of course, this is also why the police have no affirmative legal obligation to protect individual citizens. Because they can’t—and it would be unfair to ask them to do so. Sure, we could rely on the police to protect us. If we had the proper number of police officers. Say, three for each person. That’s three eight-hour shifts, so then you could have someone protecting you 24 hours a day.
Now, in 48 states, there is some provision for citizens to legally carry firearms to defend themselves. In 37 of them, anyone qualified—who is not a felon or mentally ill and who has attended a class and shooting qualification course—must be issued a permit if they choose.
But in virtually every state, universities are not among the places that permit holders may carry their guns, by law or by school policy.
Only in Utah are permit holders allowed to carry on campus by law, and at Colorado State University and Blue Ridge Community College in Virginia, permit holders may carry by school policy. So many permit-holding students choose to carry their pistols to class. And in sixty semesters combined of allowing students to do so, nothing has happened. No thefts, no murders, no alcohol-soaked gun accidents, no road rage shootings.
I used to feel pretty safe on campus, but over a dozen school shootings in the last twelve months have me thinking that feeling safe and being safe aren’t the same thing. I’m pretty sure all the students at Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech felt pretty safe, too.
But at Winona State, the policy remains that guns are not allowed on campus. May I assume, then, since the university will not allow me the means to defend myself, that the university is taking corporate responsibility for the safety of all its students while on campus?
Right now, I leave my pistol and my permit at home. If I’m ever on campus, hiding behind a seat, praying and wishing I had them, I’ll be expecting a very good answer from Winona State.

Reach Samuel Keane Rudolph at CRHunter6218@winona.edu