WVU spends $1M to implement lawmakers’ ‘campus carry’ bill, says only 5 students have applied

Brooke Tower, a student dormitory on West Virginia University's Evansdale Campus in Morgantown, W.Va., now has a gun storage room to comply with the state's campus carry law that goes into effect July 1. (Amelia Knisely | West Virginia Watch)

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A gun storage room has been added to Brooke Tower, a student residence hall on West Virginia University’s Evansdale campus in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Sixty small lockers, each outfitted with a unique combination lock, lined one wall; the other walls had been covered with ballistic panels. A university official explained that the panels would “help contain if there would be an accidental discharge or anything unforeseen would occur in the room.”

WVU leaders have prepared for the state’s new “campus carry” law, which goes into effect July 1. The legislation , hailed by the National Rifle Association, allows people with a concealed carry permit to carry a concealed pistol or revolver in many areas of public college campuses.

“We believe people will follow the rules and the laws,” said WVU Dean of Students Corey Farris. “ As long as we educate them, then, you know, we’re expecting this just to go smoothly.”

University leaders estimated that they’ll spend $1 million on the efforts throughout all of WVU’s locations.

The bill didn’t come with any funding, which left the state’s public universities to fund the safety measures while also dealing with debt .

WVU leaders axed hundreds of jobs for faculty and staff jobs over the last year in an effort to deal with a $45 million deficit largely driven by declining enrollment and rising public employee health insurance costs. The university is still working to balance its budget.

At WVU, only five students have requested a secure locker in which to store their gun. They’ll pay $140 a semester for their locker.

Marshall University, which also dealt with a budget deficit , expected to spend $300,000 to implement the legislation. Right now, that money has been used only for signage.

“Housing is handling the safe rental through a third party vendor, and we have not received a list of safes rented at this time,” said Marshall University Chief of Police Jim Terry in an email.

Marshall University President Brad Smith and WVU President E. Gordon Gee opposed the legislation, saying that their respective board of governors should make the call about guns on campuses. Students feared a rise in gun violence.

Lawmakers passed the measure in 2023.

“Guns are already among us,” said bill sponsor Sen. Rupie Phillips, R-Logan. “Now, we made it where they had to have a concealed carry permit.”

He continued, “I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as some individuals portray it’s going to be. I think a lot of people think the boogeyman is going to jump out and get them, and that’s just not going to happen.”

‘Campus carry’ bill includes exemptions

The legislation required universities to place firearm storage cabinets on campus, including in residence halls. They’re only available to students who live on campus, who will need a special  key card to gain access.

Phillps emphasized that the bill didn’t require campuses to spend any money on the initiative. The legislature gave campus leaders the option of making students pay for storage, he noted.

WVU leadership said that, in response to community members’ concerns, they felt it was best to provide centralized storage locations for the guns on their Evansdale, Downtown Morgantown, Beckley and Keyser campuses.

There’s been only one request for a gun locker at the Beckley campus.

They’ve been sharing the new guidelines with students, staff and faculty.

“Our guidance to those that are going to be using storage lockers will be to keep it in his holster and put it in the locker and make sure the locker is locked,” Farris said. “What fits in that locker is what they’ll be able to keep.”

The bill passed with parameters — it bans the open carry of a firearm on a college or university campus and allows institutions to implement exemptions.

Universities can prohibit people from taking guns into certain areas, including residence hall rooms (guns are allowed in lounges and study rooms), on-campus day cares and areas where people are receiving mental health services.

Guns are still banned at athletic events.

They’re also banned in sole-occupancy offices where the occupant notifies those entering that they’re prohibited from carrying a concealed firearm.

The university provided “No Deadly Weapon” signage for employees who requested it.

“To date, we have received requests from 326 individuals,” WVU Communication Director April Kaull said in an email.

There is no required training at WVU for students who choose to participate in campus carry; residence hall advisors will be briefed on the regulations.

Phillips suggested that campuses implement gun safety training.

“You can’t have enough training, and I’ll be the first to sit and say that,” he said.

Farris said WVU will continue to review its policies as the bill takes effect.

“Certainly, as we go into the fall semester … the safety steering committee and university police, and all of us will be monitoring to make sure that we’ve prepared our campus and have enough information out,” he said.

The post WVU spends $1M to implement lawmakers’ ‘campus carry’ bill, says only 5 students have applied appeared first on West Virginia Watch .