2015: Gun Violence on College Campus by Tatyana Hills

There have been 23 shootings on college campuses in 2015, according to the TIME online magazine. While college aids young adults in their education development, the outbreak of campus shootings has detriment the safety and mental health of enrolled students. These unpredictable shooting has spurred the debate on guns laws, mental health issues, and the security level on college campus.

With the many adversities students face while attending college; the least should be the chance of dying from a gunshot wound while in class. Sadly however, frequent cases of outbreak shootings have engulf the media news this year. In fact, the shooting in Umpqua Community College on Oct. 1, 2015 was by far the worst shooting on a college campus this year. The gunman, 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer, opened fired which claimed 10 lives including his own. No one truly knows the gunman motive or reason, but since that incident President Barack Obama demanded tighter gun laws in the U.S.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, there has been a definite uptick in campus shooting in recent years. In 2013, 23 people died in shootings on campuses at post-secondary institution; and in 2009, 17 people died. However, the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history was the 2007 campus shooting by Seung-Hui Cho, who shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 before killing himself. The incident grabbed international headlines, which spurred the debate that mental health issues played a part in the shooting. However, since that incident U.S. legislation continued to grant all 50 states the rights to concealed-carry; Illinois being the last state to pass the law in 2013.

Consequently, anti-gun violence groups exist. One group, in particular, is “Everytown for Gun Safety.” Everytown is a movement of Americans working together to end gun violence and build safer communities. This group has tracked every school shooting since the 2012 incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Conn. According to the TIME, the Everytown defines a school shooting as any incident, in which, a firearm is discharged inside a school building or campus grounds and not in self-defense. But how can police officials protect the lives of student when the National Rifle Association (NRA) prohibits public access to the identities of concealed-carry permit holders.

This question is a continuous debate between NRA and anti-gun violence groups. According to Slate online magazine the NRA has fought against disclosing the identities of permit holders because, in its view, that would lead to law-abiding gun owners being treated like criminals. However, when it comes to the safety matter of the students and the public shouldn’t we have a right to know? Granted, people can still obtain firearm without a permit, but the public has a right to know how many conceal-carriers are in their community.

Here are all the college campus shootings this year (Credits- TIME.com):

Feb. 2, 2015
Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minn.
0 injured, 0 killed, shooter committed suicide

Feb. 5, 2015
University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
1 killed, shooter committed suicide

Feb. 15, 2015
University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
0 injured, 0 killed

Feb. 23, 2015
Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona Beach, Fla.
3 injured, 0 killed

April 2, 2015
Community College of Beaver County, Beaver Falls, Pa.
1 injured (man accidentally shot himself)

April 2, 2015
Lane College, Jackson, Tenn.
1 injured

April 4, 2015
Everett Community College, Everett, Wash.
0 injured, 0 killed

April 13, 2015
Wayne Community College, Goldsboro, N.C.
1 killed

April 18, 2015
Delaware State University, Dover, Del.
3 injured

April 19, 2015
Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, N.C.
1 injured

April 19, 2015
Delaware State University, Dover, Del.
0 injured, 0 killed

May 4, 2015
Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah
1 injured (accidental shooting)

July 27, 2015
University of Florida-Gainesville, Gainesville, Fla.
0 injured, 0 killed

Aug. 8, 2015
Wichita State University, Wichita, Kan.
1 killed

Aug. 26, 2015
Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas
1 killed, 1 injured

Aug. 27, 2015
Savannah State University, Savannah, Ga.
1 killed

Sept. 3, 2015
Sacramento City College, Sacramento, Calif.
1 killed, 2 injured

Sept. 14, 2015
Delta State University, Cleveland, Miss.
1 killed

Sept. 28, 2015
Montana Tech of the University of Montana, Butte, Mont.
0 injured, 0 killed

Oct. 1, 2015
Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, Ore.
9 dead, 9 injured, shooter committed suicide

Oct. 9, 2015
Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas
1 injured

Oct. 9, 2015
Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas
1 killed, 1 injured

Oct. 9, 2015
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Ariz.
1 killed, 3 injured