The Jambar

Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Nick Young / The Jambar YSU Police gather outside Moser Hall where they discovered a student with a loaded handgun Monday evening. The student was carrying the gun in his bookbag and is currently facing charges.

Ironically, the first testing of the YSU Alert System came on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the arrest of a student carrying a weapon on campus.

On Monday, Youngstown State University Police arrested a student near Moser Hall with a loaded handgun in his backpack after being interrogated and searched because he fit the profile of the suspect in the attempted robbery at Subway on Elm Street and Rayen Avenue. Though the student turned out to not be the person of interest in the incident, he was still taken into custody and charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of marijuana.

The official comment from Director of University Communications Ron Cole is that YSU is taking the matter very seriously. "This is obviously very disturbing," said Cole, "to think that a student is carrying a loaded weapon around campus."

Cole reiterated it is a violation of university policy, the student code of conduct and of Ohio state law to carry a firearm or other weapon onto campus.

"Safety is our first priority and we will do all we can to ensure a safe working and learning environment," Cole said.

He said this student, like any other who commits such an infraction, will be dealt with swiftly. Cole did not indicate what sort of punishment the student is likely to receive.

In a poll of students, 96.7 percent, or 29 out of 30, voiced opposition to students carrying guns on campus.

Among those students opposed, 79 percent felt that any student caught carrying a gun should be expelled permanently from the university. Seventeen percent said the student should face criminal charges but felt that a suspension would be sufficient, advocating a "second chance" perspective.

One individual even suggested that public humiliation would be the best punishment.

"That's not the sort of thing that should be kept quiet," said Mark Meffan, a freshman Electrical Engineering major. "I absolutely believe those people should face public humiliation in the middle of campus. And everyone should know what they did and be able to see their face."

The only dissenting vote, a student not opposed to gun possession on campus, came from freshman Criminal Justice major Billy Adovasio.

"I know how to carry a gun. Why should I be limited in that just because someone else doesn't know how? I believe in personal defense, not crime," Adovasio said.

The one issue upon which all students agreed was the YSU Alert System. Everyone polled supported the system, stating that events like Monday's arrests were among the reasons they support the warning system.

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