Student Use Of Gun Lockers On State Campuses Low

Universities in West Virginia are currently assessing figures from the first semester of school with campus carry in place. 

The implementation of Senate Bill 10, commonly known as Campus Carry, started on July 1. 

The law requires all colleges and universities in the state to allow concealed carry permit holders to have weapons on campus with certain limitations, such as large campus events and in residence halls.

West Virginia University estimates it spent $1 million for the initial implementation of the law across its three campuses, including the installation of 120 gun safes on the Morgantown campus.

Corey Farris, dean of students at WVU, said during an Update on Campus Safety Initiatives presentation this week that there have been no incidents related to concealed carry on campus. He also stated WVU has neither allocated nor spent any more funds on the implementation of SB 10 — which did not include any state funding — since the summer. But Farris did report the use of the lockers installed in residence halls has been low.

“Those students living in the residence halls, typically first year students, last I’m aware of we had, I think, two students in the Morgantown campus request lockers,” Farris said.

WVU reports that about 84% of new freshmen live in campus-based housing or residence halls, and 24% of all undergraduates live on campus. 

A person must have a valid concealed carry permit to carry on campus, and Farris pointed out that in West Virginia permit holders must be 21.

“It might be important to note, just in general, in order to have a permit to carry, in general, a person needs to be 21 years of age,” he said. “Now there’s some exceptions for those that are 18,19, or 20 and are residents of West Virginia.”

The website of the West Virginia Attorney General states that “persons between 18 and 21 years of age must obtain a provisional CHL (concealed handgun license) to lawfully carry a concealed handgun without some other lawful authorization.” It is unclear if a provisional CHL would satisfy the legal requirements for campus carry.

Fairmont State University has also seen low usage of its 72 on-campus lockers. In a statement emailed to WVPB, one FSU official said two lockers were in use during the fall semester, a number that has since fallen to just one this spring.

“Overall, the implementation of the West Virginia Campus Self-Defense Act has been a non-issue on our campus,” the statement reads. “Both gun owners and non-owners have been able to continue their day-to-day activities on campus without hindrance.”  

The FSU official also highlighted the continuation of the university’s Campus Carry Committee (CCC). 

“CCC meets every semester to monitor implementation and discuss feedback. Should an issue arise, this group will be called upon to assess the situation and make any recommendations they deem necessary to the president.”

FSU also does not report any additional spending beyond the initial $13,000 used for signage and gun lockers.

Marshall University opted not to install permanent safes, and instead requires students to lease individual safes from a vendor.

James Terry, director of Public Safety for Marshall, said at least 15 students have requested lockers, but several have explicitly stated in their requests that they are not for weapons storage.

“They got them to put their medication in, or their laptops or valuables in their residence hall room, and they freely told them that when they rented a safe,” he said.

Terry credits a smooth implementation to simple and consistent communication.

“The team did a great job in getting the information out there, informing the public, educating the public on what they could and couldn’t do,” he said. “The only challenge we had was some folks who were surprised when they came to the ball games and they were being screened. But those aren’t university, it was just the general public.”

As with the other universities contacted for this story, Terry said Marshall did not need to spend beyond the initial allocation of $300,000 for the preparation or implementation of campus carry.

Officials from the universities WVPB contacted for this story say they will continue to review their policies and provide regular updates in the coming years.