Shootings on college campuses have plagued the United States in recent years, leaving some students concerned for their safety and thinking it could happen anywhere. Northern Illinois University was the most recent site of a college shooting. Stephen Kazmierczak stormed into a geology class Feb. 14 at NIU. He was dressed in black and carried a shotgun concealed in a guitar case and two handguns. Kazmierczak shot at the class of more than 150 students, killing five and leaving 18 wounded. Kazmierczak committed suicide before the police arrived. Justin Smith, journalism senior at NIU, said everyone is in a period of remembrance. “It’s very surreal,” said Smith, who is also online editor at NIU’s student newspaper, the Northern Star. “It’s still hard to believe that it actually happened.” Everyone at NIU is coming together to hold memorials, vigils and church services, Smith said. “I realize it could happen at any school,” said Richard Jasbring, LSU vocal performance freshman. “You’re not really as safe as you think.”
There have been at least five college-related shootings in the past year. Virginia Tech’s mass shooting in April left 33 people dead and 25 injured. Baton Rouge has been affected by similar tragedies with the Dec. 13 on-campus double homicide at LSU’s Edward Gay apartments and the Feb. 8 double murder and suicide at Louisiana Technical College. Zachary Venable, LSU music education freshman, said because LSU is an “open campus,” it could easily happen here. Cody Cowley, LSU general studies senior, said it is hard to label someone a potential shooter. “I wouldn’t be afraid so much that someone in this room could be that way,” said Whitney Normand, LSU natural resource ecology and management freshman. “The things that give people the ability to kill other people is not something you see on the surface.” Normand said there is no reason for paranoia because it could happen anywhere. “These shootings have set a precedent,” Venable said. “Maybe if they get in that state of mind, they’ll just think, ‘Screw it, I’m gonna shoot up the campus.'” With several violent incidents occurring on college campuses, some students have discussed whether people should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. Mary-Devon Dupuy, LSU political science freshman, said guns should be as far away from college campuses as possible. “The only people who should be armed are people who are properly trained for crisis situations,” Dupuy said. Venable said having students and teachers carry guns on campus is too extreme. “It’s crossed my mind, especially with [incidents] happening so frequently, that I have to protect myself,” Cowley said. “But I think there’s other ways than carrying around a weapon to protect yourself.” Smith said a group of of Illinois parents met during the weekend to make a call to Illinois state legislators to strengthen gun-control laws. “Illinois is one of the more stricter states when it comes to gun control,” Smith said. Ryan Hill, LSU kinesiology senior, said he does not agree with having a lot of students carry weapons around campus. Universities affected by such violent incidents have changed their system to prevent shootings from happening again. Smith said NIU has not made any long term plans to increase security. When students return to classes, the NIU Police Department will be assisted by Illinois State Police and the DeKalb City Police, Smith said. At Virginia Tech, President Charles Steger directed three internal reviews to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the infrastructure after the mass shooting. Faculty and staff be trained in violence prevention because they think campus safety, to some extent, is a responsibility of all university employees, according to the Interface Group report, the committee recommended that administrators, LSU Police Department has increased the number of uniformed officers on the road after the double homicides in December. The University has installed 50 surveillance cameras throughout the campus after the double homicides in December to help increase the safety of students, faculty and staff. Kristine Calongne, director of Public Affairs, said mental health services offered on campus are always open to any student, faculty or staff member who has concerns or needs help.
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