Assault rifles on campus

I quote an article I came across today from azcentral.com (Arizona’s home page): “”Police departments at Arizona’s three universities plan to arm their officers with military-style assault rifles within the next year, officials said Tuesday. The new rifles would give campus police officers long-range shooting capabilities, allowing them to hit targets at the end of long hallways or atop tall buildings, officials said …ASU will be the first of the three schools to use the weapons. Officers there will be trained to use the rifles in the next few months, said ASU police spokesman Cmdr. Jim Hardina… ‘We don’t want to just throw rifles out there,’ Hardina said. Eight officers at the University of Arizona will get similar training before a rifle program launches there in four to five months, officials said….

ASU has bought four of the new rifles at $700 each, and is looking to find money to purchase four more. One challenge the department is facing: finding ammunition for the rifles. Increased military operations mean that the police department and the armed forces were competing for the same ammo, Hardina said.””

Now, we all know that history tends to repeat itself. I have to bring up a tragic event, the Kent State Massacre. On Monday May 4, 1970, four students were killed and nine wounded, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis. Guards who were armed with “”military-style assault rifles”” shot at students who were protesting the invasion of Cambodia and students who were simply walking by.

How was this “”plan”” confirmed without the consent of the students? Are these $700 guns and “”the challenge of finding ammunition”” what our increased tuitions are paying for? Inflation of book prices? Maybe I’m just a huge wuss, but the thought of eight University of Arizona Police Department officers with assault rifles in four to five months disturbs me. Protect and serve. Not scare and kill.

Justin Lee
creative writing sophomore