While there are not yet any formal plans to solicit feedback from students, the Iowa Board of Regents is promising to consider all information when deciding if campus police officers at Iowa regent universities should carry firearms as their primary weapon.

The debate, last raised in 1991 following the slaying of five people by a disgruntled graduate student at the University of Iowa, became a hot-button issue once again after the massacre at Virginia Tech last Monday. Some are worried campus police at Iowa State and the University of Iowa, the only campus police forces in the Big 12 and Big Ten respectively, that carry Taser-type stun guns instead of firearms as their primary weapon, would be unprepared to immediately respond to a shooting or other violent incident.

Currently, ISU Police Department has a response plan in place which calls for locking down campus buildings and calling in support from the Ames Police Department and Story County Sheriff’s Department. ISU and University of Iowa police may also arm themselves in certain situations when given specific permission by the university president.

On April 16, ISU Police Commander Gene Deisinger said the department planned on doing a full review of its emergency response plan. On Thursday and Friday, Deisinger and ISU Police Director Jerry Stewart could not be reached to discuss if the department was preparing any recommendations for the regents.

On Wednesday, the Iowa Senate tied on an amendment to a higher education funding bill that would have mandated campus police to carry firearms. The 25-25 vote effectively killed the amendment, returning the decision to the regents.

In a press release Thursday, Board of Regents President Michael Gartner said the regents had already asked its institutions to launch a full review of their security practices, including arming police officers.

Herman Quirmbach, District 23 senator and associate professor of economics who voted against the amendment, expressed concern the issue was being exploited politically and that a full review by the regents and universities would come to a more legitimate decision.

“I think that the right way to go, to handle this issue, is to have a discussion with the university community, to consult with the faculty, to consult with the Government of the Student Body and if any changes are necessary, only undertake that under careful review,” Quirmbach said. Regents Executive Director Gary Steinke said arming campus police is a “regents decision” and criticized the amendment as too hasty.

“No important decisions about anything should be made in a ‘knee jerk’ sort of way,” Steinke said. He said security practices should be periodically reviewed and the decision not to arm in 1991 won’t necessarily set a strong precedent, because the board will soon induct seven new members who have not considered this issue before.

Crime records for Iowa State show that between 2003 and 2005, 14 instances of forcible rape were reported as well as 15 instances of aggravated assault and 105 instances of burglary. The university does not keep statistics on reported threats against faculty, staff and students.

Nearly 87 percent of reported rapes, 73 percent of reported assaults and 88 percent of all robberies were reported in residence halls. Residence halls are usually considered private homes and officers only enter them on specific business such as to carry out warrants or respond to calls. The Department of Residence maintains a system where an individual campus officer periodically enters specific assigned residence houses or attends house meetings.

Ginny Arthur, associate director for he DOR, said one officer patrols so that residents can become acquainted with the officer and have a positive relationship with law enforcement. She said there are no official plans yet to solicit student feedback about residence hall security, but the DOR is one of the branches of the university that has been asked to do a full review of its practices.

“I don’t know if we are going to decide that we need more [police] presence in the halls, but I don’t think we should have any less,” Arthur said. She said she does not believe officers carrying guns will have a negative effect on the DOR’s attempts to create a positive relationship with police in university housing, but all department representatives who interact directly with students have been asked to share any feedback with the department.

Government of the Student Body President Brian Phillips, junior in political science, said no one had approached him to express any concerns about the arming debate and GSB has no current plans to solicit student opinions. He said the decision should be most influenced by experts in security and law enforcement rather than students or administrators.

If the regents or university decide to make any security policy changes, Phillips said it will be the responsibility of GSB to explain those changes to students.

“A lot of it is a trust issue,” Phillips said. “If we change the policy but the students don’t know why it was changed, we won’t have that trust.”