UTSA students, faculty talk campus carry

SAN ANTONIO – At the start of the next school year, anyone 21 and older with a concealed handgun license will be able to carry their firearm on most Texas college campuses.

KSAT's Courtney Friedman spoke to students and faculty at the University of Texas at San Antonio about the law.

African American studies associate professor Theodorea Regina Berry teaches classes dealing with race, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

"Much of the conversation that we have in relationship to those topics can become very tense," she said.

Berry said that is her concern with campus carry, as well.

A colleague, literature and humanities professor Sonja Lanehart, agrees.

"I disagree with the idea that more guns makes us more safe," Lanehart said.

The two professors will be part of a group rally on campus Thursday, asking the UTSA Campus Carry Task Force to allow certain areas of campus to remain gun-free.

If the requests are not met, Lanehart said she will be making changes.

"I am really looking at ways to teach my courses online so that I don't need to be on campus and I don't need to put myself or my students in a situation that could be detrimental," she said.

Students addressed the task force at a forum Wednesday, asking questions about the law.

"I have no problem with it. It doesn't make me feel any more in danger," senior Danny Bruder said.

"I don't think students should be able to carry a firearm on campus. An individual could be going through a certain mood or having a bad day. As an educational institution or facility, I don't think people should feel uneasy when they come to class," senior Dieter Cantu said.


About the Author:

Courtney Friedman anchors KSAT’s weekend evening shows and reports during the week. Her ongoing Loving in Fear series confronts Bexar County’s domestic violence epidemic. She joined KSAT in 2014 and is proud to call the SA and South Texas community home. She came to San Antonio from KYTX CBS 19 in Tyler, where she also anchored & reported.