Pennsylvania State University at Capitol Campus
CIO MC. Itell e
Volume 11, No. 6
Issue To Be Decided Soon
1 y irry
"Do you think the Campus Police should be armed?" was what the Campus
Security Armament Committee wanted to know at public hearings held May 12
and 13 in the Auditorium and Gallery Lounge respectively. committee members
shown here are (left to right): Professor William A. Welsh Jr.; Gratz Washenik,
student; Professor M. Susan Richman, Chairperson; and Instructor James M.
Combs.
By Mike Kondor
At least three fire companies and
several police units responded to an
alarm from the campus Main Building
Thursday May 23 at about 5:25 p.m.
According to Fire Chief Richard
Wilkins of the Lower Swatara Town
ship Fire Dept., the alarm was turned
in by campus security after a fluores
cent light bulb exploded in the Educa
tion offices on the third floor.
Although the explosion caused an
extremely unpleasant odor in the third
floor office area, Chief Wilkins said that
the explosion of the bulb "couldn't have
started a fire."
When asked about the cause of the
explosion, Chief Weaver of the Middle
town Fire Co., backup unit responding
to the call, said: "Every once in a while
they explode."
Meanwhile, students and faculty
members were treated to the spectacle
of numerous fire, police, and rescue
units racing to the scene.
Traffic was jammed momentarilty
near the main building at the height of
the incident, as trucks parked in front
of the Main Building and numerous
firemen ran about searching frantically
for the whereabouts of the "fire."
CAPITOL CAMPUS CALENDAR OF EVENTS
THURSDAY, MAY 29 -- Bible Study, W-138, 12 noon .
PSPE meeting, Gallery Lounge, 7 p.m.
Meade Heights 500, 6:30 p.m., start and finish at Coffee House -
$2.00, sign-up at Roundtable 3-5 periods.
FRIDAY, MAY 30 -- Students Aglow Fellowship, 907 Weaver Ave., 7 p.m.
Good People's Productions Mini Concert, People's Park, 8-11 p.m. [Student
Center if rain]
SATURDAY, MAY 31 -- Good People's Productions Mini Concert, People's Park
11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
SUNDAY, JUNE 1 -- MHBOG Spring Road Rally Begins 11 a.m., $3.00/car driver
and navigator.
R.A. Pig Roast, 4 p.m., People's Park, $3.00. Sign up at Roundtable.
NOTE: Only $4.00 per person who attends both Road Rally and Pig Roast.
MONDAY, JUNE 2 -- SGA Meeting, 3:30 p.m., W-135.
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Are Guns
False Fire
Members of the Union Hose Fire Company responded to a call at the Main
Building along with two other fire companies when a fluorescent light bulb
exploded on the third floor. There were no injuries reported.
John Blessing, a student at Capitol
Campus and member of the Lower
Swatara Twp. Fire Company, said the
alarm came in at about 5:15 p.m.
Authorities declared the incident
under control at about 6:00 p.m.
Middletown, PA. 17057
Needed?
Wednesday evening, May 28, was the
last chance for students to let the
Campus Security Armament Commit
tee know how they feel concerning
arming the campus security officers.
The committee, which has been
active since February, is conducting a
survey of the Capitol Campus com
munity from May 21 until May 28.
Survey forms for students are avail
able from the Student Affairs Office,
W-105, during the day, and from the
Circulation Desk in the Heindel Lib
rary during the evenings of Tuesday,
May 27, and Wednesday, May 28.
The purpose of the Campus Securi
ty Armament Committee is to make a
recommendation to the Provost on the
request of the officers of campus
security to bear firearms in the normal
course of their duties.
According to Dr. M. Susan
Richman, Chairperson of the Campus
Security Armament Committee, the
Entry Fee
photo by Jan Hrabovsky
29 May 1980
first thing the committee did was to
survey students, faculty and staff in
order to help identify the issues in
volved. The committee interviewed the
Community Service Officers (Campus
Police) as well as people who would be
affected professionally, such as the
Director of Student Affairs and the
Coordinator of the Residence Living
Program. There were also several
meetings in which the committee
members discussed the issues at
length.
A summary of the committee's
findings was drafted and distributed.
Many copies of this summary were left
on top of the Roundtable along with an
announcement for the public hearings
on armament which the committee held
Monday, May 12, and Tuesday, May 13.
The purpose of the public hearings
was to give members of the campus
community a chance to make public
statements on the issues. A total of
twelve students and two faculty mem
bers spoke during both sessions.
Because attendance at the hearings
was sparse, the committee presented
questions to the people making state
ments, and also allowed questions from
the floor.
Among the issues most debated
was the question of whether or not
there is a real need to arm the police
since there were only 31 incidents
involving deadly weapons in the Mid
dletown-Lower Swatara-Highspire-
Capitol Campus area in the last two
years. Many students who spoke at the
hearings felt that campus officers
would not know how to respond prop
erly to life-threatening situations be
cause of the infrequency of such on
campus.
William Bertolet, a 9th term Busi
ness Student, told the committee that
he wouiti feel more safe knowing
off-campus police with guns would
respond on campus than knowing that
campus officers had guns.
Bertolet was also concerned that
the campus police might overreact to
unfamiliar situations.
Other points brought out during the
hearings included the possible use of
alternatives to guns.
Craig Shuttlesworth, full time stu
dent, suggested that the campus offi
cers use mace, chemical paralyzer,
shock sticks, shock boxes, or self
defense instead of guns. He pointed out
that there are no guarantees that the
alternatives are "safe," but that the
alternatives might be more appropri
ate for the officers than guns.
All in all, the hearings were con
ducted well despite the sparse atten
dance, but the debate still left a lot of
questions unanswered. And for a sim
ple reason -- there really isn't any
simple yes or no answer to whether or
not the bearing of arms overall is likely
to deter or incite crimes of violence.
The Armament Committee would
appreciate as many responses to its
survey as possible to help the commit
tee determine its recommendation.
According to Dr. M. S. Richman, it
is hoped that the committee can make
its recommendation to the provost soon
in order that a final decision can be
made before the end of Spring Term
1980.