Decision nears on campus carry

By Abigail Panitz     11/18/15 9:15am

President Leebron will decide by Thanksgiving whether to allow licensed handgun owners to carry concealed weapons on Rice University campus based on feedback from Rice community members, according to Rebecca Sanchez, a member of the Staff Advisory Committee.

Earlier this semester, a student task force was founded by the Student Association to address the Texas Senate’s campus carry bill, Senate Bill 11. S.B. 11, which was passed last June, will allow campus carry with the exception of colleges that legally opt out after consulting their students and staff.

The student task force collected feedback through an online survey where Rice students were able to vote “for” or “against” allowing concealed carry on campus. The student survey closed Sunday evening.

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Lovett College President Griffin Thomas explained that the constituent groups will report their feedback to the campus-wide working group. The group will then communicate the input to President Leebron, who will make a decision. 

The closure of the survey representing undergraduates, in addition to the closure of three other surveys representing graduate students, faculty and staff respectively, marks the end of Rice’s legally required discussion period of campus carry. According to Sanchez, all feedback will be processed and analyzed by Nov. 20. 

Thomas, a junior, explained that the task force was formed after Rice’s General Counsel attended a meeting of residential college masters and presidents earlier in the semester to discuss how best to assess student feedback on S.B. 11. This initial conversation ultimately led to the SA passing a bill to create the task force.

Hanszen College New Student Representative Nikolas Liebster described the selection process that led to his joining the taskforce. He volunteered to join at one of Hanszen’s weekly college government meetings when the position opened.

“Individuals were chosen by presidents of the colleges and we had one representative from each college other than Will Rice,” Liebster said. “We sent the survey to the SA senator of Will Rice and he then distributed it because Will Rice was otherwise not represented.” 

Thomas voiced appreciation for the administration’s efforts to foster conversation on campus around S.B. 11. 

“Personally, I am glad Rice is taking these steps to discuss Senate Bill 11 as the safety of our campus is paramount,” Thomas said. “If nothing else, it raises the level of public debate around an issue that is not generally discussed.” 

Liebster said the task force has worked to remain unbiased.

“We’re being as transparent as we can,” Liebster said. “We know that this is a very divisive issue and that people have strong opinions on it so we want to make sure that people feel like they have the opportunity to be heard.” 

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