Fenves Adopts Campus Carry Recommendations

By Alex Vickery in Promote & Protect on February 17, 2016 at 10:41 am | No Comments

UT-Austin president Greg Fenves announced Wednesday that he has adopted the 25 policy recommendations for implementing Senate Bill 11, or campus carry. In December, the university’s Campus Carry Working Group suggested that concealed handguns be allowed in classrooms, but not in dormitories, health facilities, childcare centers, polling places, and pre-K-12 campus visits, among others. The report also recommended that faculty and staff be allowed to decide whether or not to permit guns in their offices.

In a letter to UT students, faculty, and staff, Fenves says the decision on how to implement the law has been “the greatest challenge” of his presidency. He empathizes with members of the campus community who have spoken out against the bill, but says that he has “an obligation to uphold the law.” For that reason, he does not think guns should be banned from classrooms.

Fenves also established a Campus Carry Implementation Task Force to implement the policies when the law goes into effect on Aug. 1.

“Because SB 11 is a new law, we will monitor its effects on our teaching and research, as well as our ability to recruit and retain faculty members and students,” Fenves writes in the letter. “Although there is great anxiety about the impact of SB 11, I urge you not to let this weaken us as a university community. The world looks to UT with the highest regard for our excellence, our pride and our unity. Let us show the world that UT can face such challenges.”

View the full report below, and read president Fenves letter to Chancellor Bill McRaven here.

Editor’s Note: The Texas Exes supported an opt-out provision for SB 11 in the 84th Legislature.

Campus Carry Policies and Implementation Strategies

Tags: campus carry, Greg Fenves, guns on campus, ut austin, ut austin campus carry