Cal U board to decide on gun issue
CALIFORNIA – The only state school not permitting university police to carry firearms, California University of Pennsylvania, faces a decision and the school’s council of trustees is turning to the student body for guidance. The state Senate passed a revised House bill in July swinging the responsibility to decide whether or not to arm campus police from the 14 state-owned university presidents to each university’s council of trustees. Cal U and Indiana University of Pennsylvania were the only two state schools not arming their officers until last week, when IUP’s council of trustees elected to do so, leaving Cal U as the only state school without firearm protection.
Clarion and Lock Haven permitted their officers to retrieve guns kept on campus after receiving permission from their chief and the university president. Clarion’s president temporarily armed the university’s officers in April 2005, however.
Neither Clarion’s nor Lock Haven’s council of trustees has acted on the new legislation, according to Kenn Marshall, media relations manager for the State System of Higher Education (SSHE).
Marshall explained that whatever the policy was before the legislation went into effect stands at each university unless the council acts. Scott Eldredge, director of public relations at Lock Haven, said the school’s trustees plan to make a decision at a November meeting.
Cal U’s student trustee Jon Janoski, a junior, told Cal U’s student government this week that the student body’s opinion on the matter is a “major contributing factor” to the decision ultimately made by the council.
The council of trustees at each state university has 11 members with a full-time undergraduate student in good academic standing sitting on each council, according to the SSHE Web site. Two of the members must be alumni.
Non-student trustees serve six-year terms and are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the state Senate.
The powers and duties of the council include recommending hiring or firing of the university president to the chancellor, approving schools and academic programs and approving the president’s recommendations for the annual operating and capital budget requirements, according to SSHE.
Cal U’s police department was scheduled to hold an informational session about arming the university police force with the school’s student government, but the session was postponed until the university could find someone to argue both sides of the question of whether to arm officers or not. Cal U Police Officer Michael Miles has advocated for university police to carry firearms since state Rep. Tim Solobay (D-Washington) first pushed legislation that would have armed the officers at all state schools last year.
Reducing crime on campus is a matter of concern. Enough so that Cal U recently received a $199,756 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. According to a press release from U.S. Rep. John Murtha’s office, Cal U plans to spend part of the funds on strengthening education and training activities for the judicial board and university police, and security and investigation strategies for the borough police department.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) sent a letter declaring their support of the Cal U police force carrying firearms to the school’s student government, President Ryan Gebely said. He said the student organization hopes to reschedule the informational session with both sides represented within two to three weeks.
“The more information, the more feedback I get from you guys, the sooner we can make a decision,” Janoski told his fellow students.
“The student body has one of the greatest influences in this decision.”