R.U. Safe? Socratic dialogue examines issue of guns on campus

More guns on campus would help keep us safe.

More guns on campus would threaten us all.

Armed students, faculty and staff could stop an assailant.

Armed students, faculty and staff could hurt innocent bystanders.

With proper training, armed civilians can take down an active shooter.

Even with proper training, there is no guarantee they would.

The fractious topic of guns came to campus Dec. 16 in a Socratic dialogue organized by public relations students in the capstone Case Studies class, a senior level course that brings together such skills as research, writing and analysis.

An annual program, the Socratic dialogue is an academic discussion produced by Rowan’s Department of Public Relations & Advertising in the College of Communication & Creative Arts in which sides square off over a controversial topic – this year the question of guns on campus.

Moderated by Journalism Professor Carl Hausman, the program in King Auditorium in Bozorth Hall featured six panelists, three for and three against a more permissible policy of guns on campus.

Rowan University prohibits anyone but sworn police officers from carrying firearms and it’s a policy that Assistant Vice President for Public Safety Michael Kantner, himself a former police officer and Camden County Prosecutor’s Office investigator, said should remain in place. The discussion was purely academic and Rowan University is not considering a more liberal gun policy.

“Even if a civilian has a concealed carry permit, they’re not allowed to carry a gun on campus,” said Kantner, one of three panelists who argued against a more lenient campus gun policy.

Joining him in opposition to guns on campus were Mary Louise Kerwin, a Rowan psychology professor, and senior public relations major Casey Shea, who played the role of director of a fictional group, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

The argument for a more liberal campus gun policy was made by Kevin Dixon, a Galloway Township engineer and member of the National Rifle Association, Cynthia Liccardo, a former assistant Mercer County prosecutor, and Ayana Lyons, a senior public relations major who played the role of director of the fictional Students for Concealed Carry organization.

The program, titled “R U Safe? Should Universities be Gun-Free Zones?,” came in the aftermath of numerous mass shootings on and off campus across the U.S. in 2015.

Adding to the nationwide debate, Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. encouraged students on his campus Dec. 4 to carry concealed weapons to counter potential attacks.

While Falwell’s comments were not part of the discussion, Kerwin refuted his position, saying traditional college students’ brains are still developing until about age 26 or later and that, between classes, the college social scene and other stressors, allowing guns on campus could be disastrous.

“Risky behavior is already more likely among adolescents or young adults,” she said.

Dixon maintained that more guns on campus could actually make it safer, a deterrent to would-be attackers. He also reiterated the NRA position that the 2^nd Amendment to the Constitution ensures Americans have a right to defend themselves but emphasized that any gun owner must be responsible with his or her firearm.

“The failure to secure a firearm is inexcusable,” he said.

Liccardo did not endorse allowing students to carry but said faculty and staff should be as they are more likely than campus police to be in classrooms where shootings could occur.

“We should have officers on campus who are armed and trained but, at the next level, I think faculty need to be armed,” she said. “Teachers being armed is absolutely where we’re headed in the U.S.”

Whereas Dixon stressed his belief that law-abiding citizens should have access to the same level of weaponry as criminals have, including semi-automatic weapons, Shea rejected that opinion as too much.

“Our main priority is the safety of our citizens,” she said. “There’s really no need for a regular citizen to carry a semi-automatic weapon.”

Lyons, who at least for the sake of the program said she is a gun owner, argued that criminals carry with no regard to laws or policy.

“I believe citizens should be able to do the same thing,” she said.

Public Relations Professor Ed Moore, prior to the forum, said the debate format enables the entire class -- not just the two students who were on stage -- to practice communication techniques they’ve honed throughout the program.

“The Socratic dialogue serves as an introduction to issues management,” he said. “It enables students to apply a variety of lessons learned in the undergraduate P.R. program including research, writing and public speaking.”