Guns and the College Campus

  • Spring 2024

A few facts: More people are dying from guns each year, and more mass shootings are taking place at schools, including on college campuses. Another fact: In 2021, Utah eliminated its permit requirement to carry a firearm, though policies at public universities and colleges still prohibit guns without one.

This has created a confusing and sometimes contentious environment, leading emerging journalists from four colleges and universities across the state to come together and cover a single topic of importance. In this historical cross-campus project, students from Salt Lake Community College, the University of Utah, Utah State University and Weber State University have produced multimedia content looking broadly and in-depth at stories around guns at school.

OUR TEAM

 
 
PublicSafetyBuilding
The University of Utah built a new Department of Public Safety building which opened to the public on Nov. 9, 2022, as part of an effort for increased campus safety coordination. (Photo by Jack Gambassi on Nov. 22, 2022 | The Daily Utah Chronicle)

Watch: Bridging the gap between people of color on campus and armed University of Utah police

  • By Jamie Faux
USUpolice
Brad Hansen, left, and Shane Nebeker stand in front of a USU police car. Photo: Heidi Bingham.

Listen: From an active shooter to severe weather, this is how USU’s Aggie Alert tries to keep students safe and informed

  • By Leah Call
ConcealedCarryClass
Unloaded handguns and plastic handgun replicas used at a concealed carry permit class helped demonstrate proper grip, technique and cleaning. Photo by Caitlin Keith.

Listen: We took a state-approved concealed carry permit class. This is what we learned.

  • By Maren Archibald
Salt Lake Community College
Students at four of the largest colleges in Utah are shown to have mixed feelings about the presence of guns on their campuses, especially given the rising number of shootings at colleges and universities across the country in recent years. Credit: Courtesy of Salt Lake Community College.

College students in Utah respond to the presence of firearms on campus

  • By Sean Stetson
Active Shooter Drill
Officers from Weber State University’s Police Department and first responders from around Northern Utah respond to an active shooter drill at Weber State’s Ogden campus on Wednesday, August 23, 2023. (Credit: Weber State University)

How Utah's colleges are preparing for an active shooter

  • By Teresa Chaikowsky
USU Shotgun Shooting Club member Chandler Wilson aims and shoots at a clay target
USU Shotgun Shooting Club member Chandler Wilson aims and shoots at a clay target (not pictured) at Cache Valley Public Shooting Range on the morning of Feb. 17, 2024. Credit: Joseph Holder, SLCC’s The Globe

Shooting clubs at two Utah colleges rely on responsible gun ownership

  • By Kyle Forbush

Thanks to Our Partners

The Utah College Media Collaborative is an Amplify Utah project in partnership and with support from PBS Utah.

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