BENTONVILLE — Guns will be the focus of two public discussions to be held in early April at NorthWest Arkansas Community College.
The first will be at 6 p.m. April 3 in room 108 of the Student Center. “The Gun Control Forum: The Issues Behind the Sensationalism” will include two panelists who will discuss the matter and answer questions from a pair of moderators and the audience, according to forum coordinator Tamara Smith.
Doug Krueger, who teaches philosophy and world religions at the college, and James Morphew, a college student who spent 10 years in the U.S. Army, will serve as panelists.
At A Glance
Guns On Campus
Bryan Aguiar, faculty senate president at NorthWest Arkansas Community College, said he surveyed the college’s faculty earlier this year and found about 70 percent of respondents said they didn’t want guns on campus. About 40 percent of the college’s 491 faculty members participated in the survey, Aguiar said.
Source: Staff Report
Krueger taught an introduction to ethics class last semester where he brought up a number of hot-button topics in American society. The guns topic, he said, stirred up students’ emotions the most.
“We’re intending for the forum to let people become aware of the different facets and facts concerning gun control,” Krueger said. “A lot of people are basing their decisions on misinformation.”
Morphew, a National Rifle Association member and Fayetteville resident, said he is most concerned about the freedom of individuals.
“You should have the right to have (guns) or not to have them,” Morphew said.
Chris Huggard, a history professor and service-learning coordinator at the college, said the mass shootings last year in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., gave him the idea to hold this forum. He pitched the idea to his students, who agreed it was worth pursuing. Smith, a student from Seligman, Mo., took on the task of coordinating it.
Huggard said it will be made clear from the beginning of the forum that it is intended as a civil discussion free of shouting and threatening behavior.
“This is about hearing other people and considering other people’s viewpoints,” he said.
There will not be an admission fee, but attendees from the public will be encouraged to make a donation of either $5 or four cans of food. Students will be asked to give $2 or two cans of food. All donations will go to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, Smith said.
Meanwhile, college faculty president Bryan Aguiar is coordinating a debate on the subject of whether staff should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus. The debate is scheduled from noon to 2 p.m. April 12 in room 108 of the Student Center. It will be free and open to the public.
Gov. Mike Beebe signed a bill into law this month allowing college and university employees with concealed handgun permits to bring their weapons on campus, but the law allows each school’s board of trustees to opt out of the provision.
The NorthWest Arkansas Community College Board of Trustees is evaluating security practices on campus as it prepares to decide whether to opt out of the new law. Ric Clifford, board chairman, said he expects the board to decide the matter by May.
Aguiar said nine people have agreed to participate in the debate, including four who are against concealed carry on campus and five who are in favor of it. Faculty, staff and students will be represented on the panel, Aguiar said.
Clifford said he looks forward to attending both the forum and the debate.
“One of the things we wanted to do was vet (the guns on campus proposal) with the students and staff and understand the current capabilities of the staff, so the board can be as informed as possible,” Clifford said. “I’d love to be there to hear what people have to say.”