Faculty Senate Statement on Concealed Weapons

At the Meeting of the Department of French, Italian, and Comparative Literature on October 23, 2015, faculty of the department voted unanimously to endorse the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Faculty Senate Statement on Concealed Weapons (passed at the October 22, 2015 Senate meeting):

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Faculty Senate Statement on Concealed Weapons

The Faculty Senate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee expresses its vehement opposition to the idea of allowing concealed weapons in campus buildings. We do not believe that allowing weapons on campus will make students, faculty, staff, or visitors safe, and that in fact allowing weapons may increase the likelihood of violent actions occurring. Universities are a place where ideas are freely exchanged, and as a result passionate disagreement can result. Bringing weapons into such a setting is a recipe for tragedy. In addition, the perceived presence of such weapons will stifle the free discourse on campus, as individuals will not wish to risk agitating someone if they might have a weapon on their person.

We urge the Wisconsin State Legislature to reject any attempts to force state universities to allow concealed weapons to be brought into campus buildings.