Iowa State residence hall buildings are covered by a policy that controls the possession of weapons, a measure taken to try to prevent any senseless acts of violence in the student housing facilities.

Despite such a rigid policy forbidding the guns from being stored inside the dormitory buildings, the Richardson Court post office made it rather easy to get one delivered to Chuck Anderson, a junior in animal science who resides in Willow Hall.

“I went to get my mail one day, and there was a long, narrow package there. They handed it over to me with no problem. Sometimes I wonder if they realized they had just handed me a gun.”

Anderson brought the gun to his parents’ home, surprised at the ease in which he had received the weapon from the post office.

If a gun can find its way inside the dormitory buildings in such a manner, how often are guns being discovered by the university’s personnel?

Gary Schwartz, director of the Union Drive Association, said, “We have had less than five students removed [from the UDA complex] in the past couple of years in relation to violations of the weapons policy.”

The policy dealing with weapons in the dormitory buildings, included in the terms and conditions of a room and board contract for undergraduate halls for the academic year 1995-1996, is as follows:

“Firearms, weapons, or explosives of any kind including fireworks and flammable liquids, knives, BB guns and pellet guns, ammunition, bows and arrows, martial arts weapons, or any devices that are potentially dangerous or hazardous are strictly prohibited in the residence halls. Weapons are further defined as any offensive weapon, pistol, revolver, dagger, stiletto, switchblade, or knife having a blade exceeding five inches in length. The possession or use of any of these will result in severe disciplinary action.

“Anyone who uses, threatens use, or is found in possession of a weapon or potential weapon should expect to be removed from the residence halls immediately. This removal could be temporary or a permanent cancellation of your contract, depending on the severity of the situation and the outcome of an administrative investigation and/or judicial hearing.”

Despite the elaborate description of what a weapon is in the eyes of the university, Schwartz said this does not always guarantee that no confusion in the interpretation will arise.

“There are many examples of what could be a potential weapon,” Schwartz said. “A baseball bat resting in the corner of a room is not a weapon by definition, but can be used as a weapon quite easily.

“Another example is a paring knife,” Schwartz added. “[The knife’s] purpose is to cut apples and such, but can be used in a threatening manner.

“It gets confusing,” he concluded.

Schwartz did note that the removals from the Union Drive buildings were all involving items that “were clearly weapons and used in such a manner.”

Jeanine Bessette, coordinator of residence life for the Richardson Court residence halls, said the Richardson Court halls had experienced “no troubles in the past couple of years.”

But what could be regarded as a sensible prevention method does leave some students examining the rigidness of the guideline.

The ban on weapons in the dormitory buildings holds true throughout hunting seasons, a fact which leaves some students wondering why.

Anderson said, “I don’t think there would be a problem; students that hunt are usually responsible enough to be able to handle having the firearms in their room.”

Anderson, who hunts deer and pheasant, did not say he wanted all weapons to be allowed in to the dormitory buildings. “If it’s during hunting season, I think that is acceptable,” Anderson said. “No pistols, but I feel a weapon such as a shotgun could be worked out.

“There should be a system where weapons can be checked in and left in a storage area for students to check out when they go hunting.”

This option has been looked at in the past. Schwartz referred to a system for gun storage, which had been regulated by the Department of Public Safety. “That was disapproved by the student government, which resulted in the end of that storage system,” Schwartz said.

Douglas Claybaugh, an officer with the DPS, discussed the proposal made for a storage system.

“Three or four years ago, we looked into the idea,” Claybaugh said. “But the problem with such a facility was the university’s liability of the stored weapons. As soon as a student checks in his shotgun, it becomes our concern.

“There are many different aspects there,” Claybaugh continued. “Not only would the university be responsible for any damage done to weapons while in storage, there would be strict control necessary for the weapons coming in and going out.”

Anderson did feel that the storage idea would have been nice, even though it would be a slight “pain in the butt” to have to go check your gun out of a storage area rather than just heading to the hunting grounds.

One alternative for the hunters that couldn’t bring their guns to school is to go home to do their hunting. Then they could keep their guns at home and not have to worry about where they would have to store them.

Anderson pointed out the problem that arises for some students. “My hometown is not far from here, so I can keep things there,” Anderson said. “But others don’t have that luxury. I let some of my friends store their guns at my house so they don’t have to leave them at home miles away, which reduces the hassle a little bit.”

Anderson also pointed out that central Iowa has some good areas for hunting, which increases the desire to have the weapon here at school.

An alternative discussed was to leave the weapon in a student’s car, as Anderson knew of a student who had once done this. He did not see this as a feasible option, however.

“I couldn’t do that,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to have my car get busted into and have a very expensive gun stolen from me. I think that a gun would be more secure in a person’s room than in a parking lot roamed by many people.”

The car storage method is a length some students feel they have to go to have their hunting weapons around. “Like I said, not everybody has a home where they can store their weapons within a reasonable distance of this school,” Anderson said.

Claybaugh was skeptical when asked if hunting weapons would ever be an exception to the rule. “For any weapons to be brought in to the dorm rooms, the university would have to rewrite the entire policy for the rooms.”

Anderson’s views are partially shared by one of the students that is in a position of authority on a dormitory floor. Curtis Varley, a Resident Assistant in Willow Hall majoring in political science and economics, has few reservations for banning the weapons from dorm rooms; only one big one, in fact.

“The only reservation I have against the weapons being in the room has to do with the judgment skills of people while drinking,” Varley said.

“I’ve known guys that have gotten drunk and, in turn, gotten pissed off for whatever reason,” Varley continued. “They tell the target of their anger that they’re going to get their gun, and when they get back, that person is going to be a dead man.”

Claybaugh was in agreement with the R.A.’s statements. “From a law enforcement perspective, you have to take into account the amount of alcohol abuse that occurs in the dorms, and then factor in the availability of a gun if weapons were allowed in the rooms,” Claybaugh said.

“With the outside element [alcohol], it would be too difficult to control the storage of weapons in the rooms,” he said.

Varley said the current policy doesn’t keep the buildings squeaky clean. “There have been documented incidents that aren’t talked about, which I am not privileged enough to detail myself,” Varley said. “[The incidents] might deter a person from living in the dormitory buildings.”

The argument of the responsibility level of the students that hunt is also addressed by Varley. “I might know 100 very skilled and knowledgeable hunters,” Varley said, “but there will almost always be a few rotten eggs.”

Anderson echoed this statement. “There will probably be one nut that will be irresponsible with a weapon.”

Varley said it would be difficult to divide the hunting students into categories that allow guns and that don’t allow the weapons.

“How do you define the criteria to make those divisions?” Varley hypothetically asked. “The most-skilled hunter could still make a poor judgment decision with the weapon in the room.”

Varley said the development of the DPS locker system was the best way. “They could store them in a relatively close location and they knew the guns were in a safe place,” Varley said.

Claybaugh expressed the frustration involved with this issue, calling the whole situation “a logistic headache.”