This research study focuses on students' and faculty's awareness and preparedness during an active-shooter event. The study examines the perceptions and abilities of the students and faculty at a large southern university. The study surveys the participants current ability to use and their opinions of using the emergency alert notification system…

Campus carry laws have allowed civilians to legally bring their concealed firearms onto college and university campuses in several states in the U.S. over the past decade. Previous studies have addressed the policy's legal grounds, arguments for and against it, impacts on campus safety, and faculty and students' attitudes toward it. This paper…

Objective: This study assessed whether college students felt less safe or were less likely to work with another student when they thought the person they would work with was carrying a handgun than when they did not. Participants: Seventy participants were recruited from a public US university where campus carry was legal. Methods: Participants…

This study examined attitudes toward campus carry -- a policy that would permit individuals to carry concealed firearms on a university's grounds if they possess a permit. Survey data were collected from a sample of 1,380 members of a campus community -- undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff -- at a medium-sized public…

Although fatal shootings on U.S. college campuses are statistically rare, students are routinely confronted with information suggesting that shootings are rampant and unavoidable. Pre-crisis interventions should address the threat of deceptive claims and restore beliefs that universities are capable of protecting students from violence. This…

On October 1, 2017, the history of Las Vegas, Nevada was forever changed when a mass shooting claimed the lives of 58 innocent people at a concert site on the Vegas Strip. Only three miles away, the University of Nevada Las Vegas and its main branch, Lied Library, became a space where students sought shelter and answers. To understand how this…

Following the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech, policymakers have sought ways to improve safety on college and university campuses nationwide. Among the more recent proposals is to permit concealed handgun licensees to carry on campus. To date, eight states have enacted legislation implementing this measure. A limited body of research considers the…

Although there has been an increase in research on support for campus carry laws, few studies have examined how these laws influence campus safety. Using longitudinal data from a university sample, this study compares measures of campus safety before and after the adoption of a campus carry law. We found statistically significant increases in…

One of the most pressing concerns on college campuses today is student safety. To date, nine states have passed Campus Carry legislation and more states may follow. Texas was the eighth state to pass Campus Carry legislation. Specifically, in the 2015 Legislative session, the Texas Legislature voted to allow License to Carry (LTC) holders to carry…

At the end of the 84th Legislative session, Texas joined seven other states in giving individuals the right to carry a concealed handgun on campuses of higher education. With guns being allowed on higher education campuses, little is known about the perceptions of the students whom attend these higher education institutions. Politicians are making…

I examined which students view campus gun carrying as socially beneficial, how these views vary based on social standing among peers, and to what extent students believe their own gun carrying behavior influences others. Data were drawn from a nationwide web survey of 520 US college students. Results indicate that males and those attending school…

Campus violence prevention often includes proactively reducing crime through noticing and resolving concerning situations. Within these efforts, interventions aimed at enhancing reporting have been considered necessary. The current study explored several reporting influences on college students' responses to hypothetical and actual campus safety…

Five years after the Virginia Tech massacre prompted a student in Texas to start a Facebook page in favor of the right to carry concealed weapons on college campuses, the resulting group, Students for Concealed Carry, has advanced its cause. In more than a dozen states, legislation has been introduced to allow the carrying of concealed firearms on…