STONEHILL COLLEGE AND BRIDGEWATER STATE STICKING TO THEIR GUNS

By Chris Chirichiello

Stonehill College and Bridgewater State College have boosted their security on campus due to the increase of campus violence nationwide, according to the police chiefs’ from each college.

“The entire Campus Police Department is now carrying firearms. They have been trained in an extensive course that is approved by the Executive Office of Public Safety in the Commonwealth,” said Stonehill Police Chief Peter Carnes.

Not having firearms left officers worried not only for the students’ safety, but for their own safety as well, he said.

“We can now, with armed forces, respond quickly to any crisis situations that may involve weapons. Prior to the arming process, we would have to wait until the Easton Police arrived,” said Carnes.

Having a delayed response can lead to many casualties.

“Time is of the essence and you will now have a prompt, effective and efficient police response. As we know, a delayed response could have potentially tragic results,” said Carnes.

With the addition of firearms, campus police at Stonehill College hope students feel safe.

“I would hope that our students have always been in a position to feel safe on our campus,” said Carnes.

Allowing officers to carry firearms was a long process.

“The decision to arm our staff was not based solely on the crime rate escalation alone. Arming was documented and considered as an absolute best practice as a safety measure to protect all. There is no question that campus violence across the country was considered by all of us who were researching the topic,” said Carnes.

One student at Stonehill College said the guns are unnecessary.

“I don’t think it’s really necessary, we’ve never had any major problems before,” said Kristyn Sylvia, a sophomore, of Taunton, Mass.

According to the Handbook for Campus Crime Reporting of the United States Department of Education, in 2007, there were 842 cases of illegal weapon possessions nationally on college campuses.

Sylvia said armed campus police here is not needed because Stonehill is so small.

“Our campus is not like other larger schools, we don’t have major cities surrounding us that are a threat,” Sylvia said.

Growing up right nearby, Sylvia said armed campus police officers will not make her feel safer.

“I guess the fact that I come from around here makes me feel comfortable. I don’t think that campus police having guns will make me feel more comfortable,” said Sylvia.

Stonehill College police officers are one of the last colleges locally to carry guns on campus to protect students. “The department has always been armed. We believe that it was taken for granted and that police officers should be armed,” said David Tillinghast, chief of police at Bridgewater State College.

Bridgewater State College police also carry firearms.

The idea of firearms for Bridgewater State College was to make the students feel protected and safer.

“I think the students feel safer. I think having a real police department capable of immediate response to criminal activity would have to be reassuring to anyone who cares about campus safety or his or her own personal safety,” said Tillinghast.

Tillinghast said Stonehill could have made this decision sooner.

“The truth is that all police officers should be armed. There’s really no debate about that. So the issue of whether to arm campus police essentially fails in its premise. Police officers everywhere should have firearms,” said Tillinghast.

Amanda Domenici, a sophomore at Bridgewater State College, from Stoneham, Mass., said knowing campus police carry guns is comforting.

“I feel safer knowing our campus police can hold and carry guns because unlike most colleges, we have a train station on campus and most people who take the train aren’t students here,” said Domenici.

Domenici said she notices people she does not know on campus and feels betting knowing that campus police around.

“We have a lot of random people on campus on any given day. So, knowing our police have firearms to protect us makes me feel a lot safer,” said Domenici.

Domenici said campus officers everywhere should carry guns. “You just never know,” said Domenici.