“We have people on our Campus Safety staff with 20 plus years of experience in the New York Police Department, ten years in the national guard and degrees in criminal justice.” These are the words of Assistant Director of Campus Safety, Leonard Crossman.

Despite some of the employees’ experience, The Department of Campus Safety often goes back and forth on whether or not they should carry firearms, Crossman said.

Though PSU and UNH have their own campus police as for Keene State College, KSC’s campus safety works hand-in-hand with the Keene Police Department. What sets Keene State College apart from any other colleges is that the police department is approximately three minutes down the road.

George Amaru / Art Director

“We have the ability to have staff members carry a weapon depending on their experience,” Crossman said. He said that this factor plays a huge role in deciding whether or not Campus Safety carries firearms. However, Crossman doesn’t really see the need for them when the police department is always going to be right there.

The informal survey showed three out of four students agreed with Crossman and said no to Campus Safety carrying firearms.

One female senior said, “I understand why campus safety does not carry firearms, but they should have something–pepper spray, handcuffs, something.”

Campus safety is looking into non-lethal weapons, Crossman said. The non-lethal weapons would include items such as pepper spray, tasers and nightsticks. Although Crossman said he supports the application of non-lethal weapons for many on-campus incidents, in the event of an active shooter Crossman said he believes the most effective strategy would be to wait for armed police presence. “Do not go into a gun fight with a knife,” Crossman said.

He continued, “The best way to stop someone with a firearm, is a firearm.”

Shelby Iava can be contacted at siava@kscequinonx.com