On April 16, 2007, a student at Virginia Tech University, known to be mentally ill, went on a rampage shooting 49 people on campus before taking his own life. When it was over, 32 people were dead, and the concept of a safe campus was forever changed. The incident revealed the inherent conflicts between campus safety concerns and students' civil…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Fair Discipline." Contents include: (1) Federal School Safety Commission…

Understanding the law has become an integral part of the work of higher education professionals, especially residence life staff. For decades, courts have contributed an increasingly important role in shaping the litigious nature of society at large and within higher education (Greenleaf, 1982). Barr and Associates (1988) noted the increasingly…

Campus safety and the role of college and university officials relative to safety are important topics on the agendas of political leaders at the state and national levels. Student affairs leaders must consider how to contribute in a meaningful way to these very important conversations. (Contains 1 footnote.)

Disagrees with Ferraraccio's views and argues that: (1) students do bring illegal weapons to school; (2) metal detectors do detect weapons and help schools to disarm students; (3) disarming students reduces the threat of violence; and (4) courts have repeatedly approved the constitutionality of weapon-related suspicionless student searches…

This publication highlights and explains some 400 court cases from 2002 involving issues of school violence and safety. It is divided into four sections, or topics: (1) "The Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure" (R. Mawdsley); (2) "Negligence" (W. Evans, Jr.); (3) "Assault on School Personnel" (M. Yates); and (4) "Drugs and Weapons in Schools" (M.…