Colleges are charged with providing safe and secure campus environments, which are conducive to learning for all students. It is the duty of the college leadership to ensure that their campuses are not only visually appealing, but also that they ensure the safety of all. Recent events have shown that efforts to protect our campuses and…

The research in this dissertation was conducted to measure the accessibility, presentation, and format of active shooter protocol for college faculty and staff at institutions of higher education in the state of New Jersey. The study further explores the need for availability of active shooter policy given the unfortunate growing problem of active…

Throughout history, guns have been used as tools for social control to instill terror within minoritized communities. Campus carry is a current gun law that now allows licensed concealed handgun holders to carry on public college campuses in 11 U.S. states, including Texas (National Conference of State Legislatures [NCSL], 2018). This qualitative…

The view that colleges are generally safe has been challenged by threats of violence on campuses across the country, causing fear among stakeholders. Community college faculty are not immune to crime-related fear on campus; however, the research has largely ignored this population. This research serves to fill that gap. The purpose of this…

In this article I discuss an approach to teaching about the Russian war in Ukraine that uses the war as a focal point for teaching about topics in comparative politics and international relations. I discuss the pedagogical advantages for political science teaching, including meeting the interests of students, introducing students to theories in…

This article examines the significance of fear of concealed handguns in the classroom at a public university in Texas, analyzing perceived changes in shared social space and the collective learning environment in terms of affect. This multimethod study provides a framework for understanding the factors behind the fear, which may be seen as…

The story of a mass shooting occurring on the place of school seems to be a common one in contemporary American cultural narrative. One of the more controversial solutions offered within this narrative is allowing citizens to protect themselves through the practice of conceal and carry. The practice of legally allowing individuals to conceal and…

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…

As campus carry policies are implemented at colleges and universities across the country, the concern for the safety of students, faculty members, and campus community members has heightened. In the state of Texas, broad sweeping campus carry policies were recently enacted by Texas State Legislature that allows individuals to conceal carry…

This study examined the factors that influence support for campus carry laws among a sample of approximately 2,700 faculty/administrators, staff, and students at a large, public university in Georgia. Although previous research suggests that support for campus carry may differ across groups on campus, there have been no studies that have examined…

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…

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…

Little is known about how a college mass shooting affects faculty and staff survivors. The purpose of this study was to better understand how the experience of a college mass shooting affected the lives of faculty and staff involved in the incident. This study examined, in-depth, the personal accounts of six college staff and faculty who had…

Texas community colleges are facing new challenges every day from outside forces. One of the latest forces is the Texas state legislature. The state legislature has allowed the carrying of conceal weapons on community college campuses with the passing of Senate Bill 11 (Handgun Laws, 2018). Historically, community colleges have been safe places…

This exploratory study used data collected from a representative sample of 522 Pennsylvania residents and 238 Pennsylvania college students to measure attitudes toward four different types of campus carry (CC) -- student, faculty, staff, and universal carry. Findings indicated that a slight majority of both samples believed that armed staff and…