To the editor:

Promoting armed students and faculty within the collegiate environment establishes a culture of fear in anticipation of a shooting.

Many of my fellow students cringe at the sight of these acrid anti-weapons signs that many of our buildings and stores must post in order to secure ourselves against the legal presence of weapons.

The Board of Regents took responsibility in banning weapons where our state Legislature played sycophant to an aggressive gun lobby and dangerous ideology of state Sen. Phil Journey (R-Haysville).

I would prefer we focus our efforts on securing our campuses to greater ends rather than granting anyone the false sense of security derived from a meager band of students and faculty. Such actors would likely endanger themselves in their hubris, concomitantly jeopardizing the safety of their peers. These students were lucky they were not mistaken for possessing weapons, and I hope any student who feels threatened by their rash display does not hesitate to contact the police. I would prefer a campus be primed to raise an alarm at the sight of weapons than grow accustomed to them.

We must be cautious of the notion that killers willing to sacrifice their own lives will be deterred by any physical means, as most of these shooters seem to seek death both for themselves and others. To destroy the culture of violence we must not promote it in another manner, but we should eradicate the motivations of those who perceive the use of deadly force as a solution to their troubled hearts and minds.

Marc Langston,

Wichita