Marshall University Story Archives - Page 16 of 56 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

W.Va. Universities, Colleges Preparing For Campus Carry Law

After years of failed attempts, Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, also known as Campus Carry, passed in the recently completed legislative session.

After years of failed attempts, Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act, also known as Campus Carry, passed in the recently completed legislative session. The new law authorized the concealed carry of firearms in certain areas of college and university campuses. It takes effect July 1, 2024.

West Virginia’s institutions of higher education largely opposed campus carry. Campus leaders at big and small schools said they’ll need that much time to prepare.

Marshall University’s enrollment is a little more than 13,000. In the Eastern Panhandle, Shepherd University has just over 3,000 students. Both schools have campus carry committees and task forces that include administration, faculty, staff and students. Marshall Director of Public Safety Jim Terry said there are a wide variety of policy decisions on the table.

“We have a small group of senior leadership,” Terry said. “We’ve put together an action learning team made up of constituents from every facet of the university to go out and look at best practice, best policy.”

Holly Morgan Frye, vice president for Student Affairs, and the director of Community Relations at Shepherd University, said her school’s campus carry task force also includes attorneys and members of the residence life team.

Both schools now allow no firearms on campus. SB10 will permit concealed carry in classrooms and public areas, but not in stadiums and day care facilities. Frye said Shepherd’s key concern highlights student mental health and suicide issues.

“Everybody knows that the mental health issues on a college campus are on an increase,” Frye said. “We are getting ready to hire a fourth counselor. We have an enrollment of a little more than 3,000, and we feel that it’s critical that we have that fourth counselor because of the mental health issues.”

Marshall senior Abbey McBrayer said the chilling, anxious effect of COVID-19 still lingers on campus. She said campus carry could make it worse.

“A lot of people my age still feel uncomfortable being out on campus and going to like classrooms and things like that,” McBrayer said. “I think knowing that somebody could just have a gun in a classroom is kind of going to add to that. And then I mean, our counseling services are already kind of bogged down.”

Frye said she worries whether campus carry will affect enrollment for border schools like Shepherd. She believes the costs of ensuring campus safety will demand a larger police force.

Terry said the initial estimate for Marshall’s firearm security could reach $400,000, while Frye said the Shepherd cost could be several times that. Both point to residence halls, where guns are not allowed in dorm rooms, but are allowed in lunch rooms and lounges.

“I think that we’re going to have to be providing safes in order for any of our residential students who choose to carry to be able to lock those guns away when they are in their residential rooms,” Frye said. “We have already heard from our residential assistants with concerns about how they will manage that. For example, what will they do if they see somebody who has a gun? What will be the process?”

Terry said the school will have to create a new firearms policy when secondary school age visitors use campus facilities and with campus buildings jointly owned by public and private entities. He said there are no provisions in the law made for violation of campus carry policies, civil or criminal.

“We’re going to have to get with the county prosecutor,” Terry said. “There are no criminal statutes and there are no penalties attached to that code. If a person sees half a holster sticking out from underneath a jacket, and they call it in, he’s not violated the law. But we have nothing in place for a shirt raising up or something like that.”

Marshall freshman Jonathan Willman agreed with all the safeguards and security measures needed. However, he sees campus carry as a defensive necessity.

“I plan to carry myself when I get my concealed carry license,” Willman said. “We aren’t the people you have to worry about, it’s the people that break the laws. The bill allows kids to be able to defend themselves from people like that, who are already breaking the law and shooting up schools and campuses.”

Student Journalists Have Extra Protection With New State Law

West Virginia recently became the 17th state in the nation to pass a law protecting student journalists. It is known as the Student Journalist Press Freedom Protection Act. News Director Eric Douglas, a Marshall Journalism School alumnus, spoke with Chuck Bailey, the faculty adviser to WMUL and Makaylah Wheeler, the student news director, to discuss how it will affect their reporting.

West Virginia recently became the 17th state in the nation to pass a law protecting student journalists. It is known as the Student Journalist Press Freedom Protection Act.

News Director Eric Douglas, a Marshall Journalism School alumnus, spoke with Chuck Bailey, the faculty adviser to WMUL and Makaylah Wheeler, the student news director, to discuss how it will affect their reporting.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Douglas: Was this something that, in the back of your mind you were concerned about? Did it actually affect your day-to-day decisions about broadcasting?

Bailey: The answer on the broad scope is no. Administrations change and administration’s understanding of journalism change widely based on their interactions and their perceived pressures they get from boards of governors to community, if something is done that they do not like. But routinely, I think the administration’s at most higher ed institutions realize they deal with journalists all the time, they can’t control the message.

Douglas: Tell me about some of the issues that you’ve covered that might have come to the attention of the administration.

Wheeler: One of my reporters covered when we had protests on campus over the potential abortion ban. At the time, we had some pretty heated protests happening, and that could have very easily been a point in time where the administration had stepped in. But it wasn’t. Our reporters were able to go out and they were able to cover these protests and interview whoever they wanted with no pushback. That happens pretty much anytime. I wouldn’t say that we have a whole lot of issues on campus where it’s something that potentially the administration feels like they would need to step in because they’re worried about bad press.

Even in times that we have had things that may be a little bit iffy. Even covering, like the campus politics, people that are running our debates for student government, those can get pretty intense. Those are very easily points in times where the administration could step in, and they could say something about it. But they don’t. They kind of respect the work that we’re doing, and they trust that we’re going to be unbiased in what we’re releasing and just reporting on what’s happening.

Douglas: That’s actually really gratifying to hear that the administration has mostly taken a hands-off attitude, which is what you want to hear with student journalists. I mean, that’s the point of the professional advisers in the first place.

Bailey: I was just thinking there was one instance where we did truly cooperate with the administration, one of those clickbait stories, the most unsafe campus, that type thing. And one got out with Marshall being just really wretched. There were no sources or anything to it, it was just a claim. I asked Makaylah [Wheeler] to contact the university administration to get some feedback. And I’ll let her tell you about that, because we didn’t want to run something that absolutely had zero credibility.

Wheeler: A lot of the time, I do get redirected to their communications department. Depending on where I contact on campus, I don’t always get the go ahead to talk to the higher ups. Sometimes I do just because I’m a little bit pushy. We talked to the communications department, and they had actually already done their research on this trying to cover just in case of the press. We do have to do our research in those circumstances. But obviously, as a news director, I’m not going to run something that I’m not 100 percent positive.

That’s one thing we’re lucky about here is not only do they trust that we’re going to be doing that. But sometimes they do kind of leak into the territory of either they trust us enough that they think that they can be comfortable enough to tell us a little more than they usually would.

Or that it becomes kind of businessy and you have to worry about that inter-department relationship if they’re going to work with you in the future. That was good to have that line of communication that they were at least willing to respond and that circumstance.

Makaylah Wheeler and Chuck Bailey. *Courtesy*

Douglas: West Virginia is actually one of the first 17 in the country to pass this law. But it doesn’t sound like it at least is overwhelmingly needed. It’s good to have as a backup, but it’s not been a pressing issue.

Bailey: It’s good that it takes it off the plate because a lot of administrators think the adviser should have prior restraint, that you should go in and say don’t do this. If Makayla has a question and wants to ask me, I will give her my advice, but I’m not going to tell her to or not to do that.

I think this will have more impact on high school journalism teachers and I believe they need it. I think there will be instances in higher ed where somebody will need this protection, and it will probably be a new adviser more so than a veteran adviser.

For more information, see a story from the Student Press Law Center.

Discussing Protections For Student Journalists On This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia recently became the 17th state in the nation to pass a law protecting student journalists. It is known as the Student Journalist Press Freedom Protection Act.

On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia recently became the 17th state in the nation to pass a law protecting student journalists. It is known as the Student Journalist Press Freedom Protection Act.

News Director Eric Douglas, a Marshall J-school alumnus, spoke with Chuck Bailey, the faculty advisor to WMUL and Makaylah Wheeler, the student news director, to discuss how it will affect their reporting.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.

Assistant News Director Caroline MacGregor produced this show.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Campus Carry Bill Completes Legislation, Awaits Governor’s Signature

Divided down party lines, several of the dozen House Democrats spoke passionately against the bill, concerned with taking institutional freedom away from the many state colleges and universities opposed to campus carry.

Emotions ran high and the rhetoric ran long as House debate closed Tuesday on the contentious campus carry firearms bill.

Senate Bill 10, or the Campus Self-Defense Act, on third reading in the House of Delegates, would allow for the concealed carry of firearms on college campuses, with limited gun restrictions in places like stadiums, on-campus daycare and disciplinary hearings. Concealed firearms in residence halls would not be allowed in dorm rooms – but would be permitted in common areas – with a “gun locker” provided.

Del. John Williams, D-Monongalia, voiced his opposition by quoting data driven research from Johns Hopkins University on the issue.

“The authors examined the 111 high fatality mass shootings, defined as six or more murder victims that occurred in the United States since 1966. The study found that only 13 of them had taken place in a gun free zone. The report also concluded that these types of laws don’t limit gun violence on campuses, rather they increase them,” Williams said. “As for college campuses, the report notes that fights, suicide attempts and reckless behavior are more lethal when a firearm is present and are far more common among college students, in general, than opportunities for armed students to stop rampages.”

In near unison, many of the 88 House Republicans, like Del. Chris Pritt, R-Kanawha, said allowing students, faculty and staff to carry firearms on the state’s college campuses does what lawmakers are pledged to do, defend and protect the individual’s rights.

“Individual rights are not circumstantial. They shouldn’t depend on where a person is, there should be no such thing as a second class constitutional right, and that’s what we’re talking about here,” Pritt said. “There’s a lot of talk about whether something may or may not happen, but there hasn’t been any talk up to this point on what it means to have an actual constitutional right. This is a right in fairness, it is fairly unique in the world. This is a right that we have as Americans, but it’s for good reason. It’s based on our history, it’s based on our founders and the trials and tribulations that they faced.”

The Campus Self-Defense Act passed 84-13. It has now completed legislation and goes to Gov. Jim Justice for his signature.

Opposition Dominates Public Debate On Campus Carry Bill

Will allowing the concealed carry of firearms on campus add more protection or create more danger?

This is a developing story and may be updated.

This story was updated on Feb 15, 2023 at 3:58 pm

With another university campus mass shooting earlier this week, legislative and public debate over the Campus Self-Defense Act has fostered heightened emotion from both sides. Will allowing the concealed carry of firearms on a West Virginia campus add more protection or create more danger?

The House Judiciary Committee held a Wednesday morning, one-hour public hearing on Senate Bill 10, commonly known as the campus carry bill. It would allow college students, faculty and staff to carry concealed weapons on all but a few restricted areas on college campuses. There were 37 people opposed to the bill and only two speaking in support of campus carry. Each speaker had one minute.

Chris White, a Marshall University history professor, and former Marine infantryman, said the Second Amendment, the right to bear arms, must come with safety controls this bill does not offer.

“There are many, many months worth of training that military and police officers have to go through before they are able to earn that second amendment right and carry those weapons in public,” White said. “Every single moment in which a weapon is in the hands of a soldier or a police officer is controlled. None of those safety controls will be imposed on our students or anybody else who comes on to campus. Marshall University, WVU, the other universities, have expressed that they are opposed to this bill. I am not going to say that this is going to increase actual violence on campus. It might. But what I do know is they’re going to increase accidental discharges.”

Speaking in favor of the Campus Self-Defense Act, Art Thomm said he represented the National Rifle Association. He said Michigan college students killed earlier this week might be alive if campus carry was allowed.

“I live here, my college age sons live here, my wife and my young stepdaughter live here. Our loved ones deserve the right to defend themselves from a deadly attack in a gun free zone without having to make the choice of employment, education or their life,” Thomm said. “As already referenced, there was a shooting just this week where a lunatic went on a college campus in Michigan, a place where it was illegal under statute to carry a firearm and shot eight students killing three of them.”

After the public hearing, Democratic lawmakers from the Morgantown area joined West Virginia University students and staff in solidarity against campus carry. Del. Evan Hansen, D-Monongalia, boiled down much of the sentiment expressed in the public hearing.

“Their concerns include things like an increase in assaults and sexual assaults,” Hansen said. “How this would interact with mental health and suicide on campus, the possibility of accidental discharges, the drinking and drug use on campus and how bringing guns into that equation might cause more harm than good. People also mentioned issues with recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and students.”

WVU faculty member Maria Perez said some students taught her to appreciate firearms used for hunting, but others expressed the fear of a high number of military veteran suicides by handgun having parallels to college students.

“His uncle was a lawful firearms owner, he had no mental illness antecedent, his dog had died and then he got into a fight with his wife and shortly after he shot himself and died,” Perez said. “It was a moment of crisis. This combined with the availability of a firearm creates conditions that result in the sudden and tragic end of a life.”

Lawmakers who support campus carry, like Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, said the proposal extends the constitutional Second Amendment rights to college campuses.

“You and I can carry a firearm, as is our right, in any portion of that facility that it’s not prohibited in. This just affords that same right and opportunity to the students and faculty,” Steele said. “You can have an 18-year-old person who hasn’t matriculated at school, legally carrying a firearm. You shouldn’t have to surrender your firearms rights just because you become employed at the university or college or become matriculated and become a student.”

Marshall University, West Virginia University, Concord University and West Virginia State University are among state universities that have voiced their opposition to campus carry.

The bill is expected to be considered in the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday afternoon for more debate.

Update

After more than two hours of emotional debate and testimony in the House Judiciary Committee, Senate Bill 10, the Campus Self-Defense Act was sent to the house floor with the recommendation that it do pass.

Governor Defends Using CARES Money For MU Stadium

During his weekly briefing Wednesday, Gov. Jim Justice said he had no regrets about his administration’s decision to use $10 million in CARES dollars to build a baseball stadium at Marshall University.

The West Virginia Senate Finance Committee has launched an investigation into the administration’s spending of COVID-19 relief money, including money earmarked to benefit the Division of Corrections.

“The only thing that I hate about this whole thing is just this, is people saying, ‘Well you know, he’s going to run for senate, and that’s why he is doing this,’” Justice said. “I mean really, really and truly, I mean look what we have accomplished since the day I walked in the door. Do you honest-to-goodness think I need anything else to be able to run for the senate, and why on earth would I want anything except more and more goodness for Marshall University, Huntington, the whole area. I mean absolutely, if there was a way to do it, absolutely I wanted to find a way to do it. In the CARES dollars that we administered here there was well over a billion dollars, and I think we handled those dollars correctly all the way through.”

The money for Marshall University’s baseball stadium was transferred to the governor’s Gifts, Grants and Donations Fund just before the federal deadline to allocate CARES money.

Justice defended his decision, saying CARES money was spent wisely as evidenced by West Virginia leading the nation in caring for the most vulnerable during the pandemic.

“We didn’t shut down all of our businesses and everything. We kept the state open for business,” he said. “We did the right thing, that you know, that I really believe if you’ve talked to the medical experts and everything, a catastrophe could have happened.”

Justice said his administration moved immediately when vaccines became available.

“We knew this was attacking our elderly and we moved immediately to get shots in the arms of our elders.”

Justice said he stands “rock solid” behind his administration, saying it’s not a one man show.

“This was a show of our people. We’re all together, our experts, the very best of the best of the best, you know, who stepped forward. At the end of the day, I’d really surprise you with what I thought is the best characteristic that I have. And that’s the ability to doubt myself. Because what I do is I check stuff. Then I double check stuff to make absolutely certain we’re doing the right thing. Nobody had a playbook. This was done very, very, very well. Only one can do something perfect. I’ll never be that. Literally this was done really good.”

The governor’s Chief of Staff Brian Abraham said early on in the pandemic the U.S. Department of Treasury “put out” the money for COVID-19 relief before they implemented any guidelines.

“The governor was the one that came out and said, make sure we get the best of the best when it comes to experts who can guide us through this,” Abraham said.

Abraham said the Justice administration has been transparent and confirmed the legality of the move with accounting firm BDO and the law firm Bailey Glasser. “Our BDO folks have reached out and provided all this information since the senate met the other day. Again the governor demands we are transparent. And we did that here. And now we’re going to show the senators that and I’m sure they’ll understand once we provide it.”