Posted on 10/06/2015 5:30:55 PM PDT by John W
CULVER, Ind. (21Alive) -- A prestigious school west of Fort Wayne, known for its military disciplines, is causing a stir with a policy change regarding firearms.
That change comes near the time of the latest terrible school massacre in the U.S.
Considering Culver's roots as a military school dating back to 1894, it was a surprise when last week Culver Academies school officials announced security officers would no longer carry weapons.
The school administration declined to talk on camera and said allowing us to interview students would go against the best interest of their safety.
A statement released by Culver, reads in part, "We decided that the policy of having our security officers carry side arms was not a practice we wanted to support any longer."
"We came to believe that the danger of having loaded firearms on campus outweighed the potential benefit of having armed security officers."
It's a story with unusual timing.
That awful school shooting erupted in Roseberg Oregon a couple days later, in a gun free zone, where school security there could not present an armed resistance.
Culver officials say they want security staff here to be approachable, not intimidating figures to students.
The school will rely on the nearby Culver Municipal Police Department, the Marshall County Sheriff's Department and the Indiana State Police, who are "only minutes away in an emergency."
"But that is not a role we need our security officers to play."
Culver's security officers now carry batons and mace, but not one retired Indiana State Police officer, who resigned his post following the change, saying he no longer believes it's a safe atmosphere for someone in uniform.
We caught up with a couple of folks in the town of Culver nearby, who think the change is a big mistake.
"I do believe as security, if they're going to be able to stop something like that, they're going to have to have weapons and that's, you know, we're talking sidearms, we're not talking you know, automatic weapons or anything of that nature," Ron Hodges of Plymouth said.
"They're claiming that the Culver Police Department is only 5 minutes away, well, how many kids can a mad man with an AK 47, how many kids can he take out in 5 minutes. I don't know, I don't want to know," Kathleen Tanguy, Culver Resident said.
Then they need to change their job titles from Security Guards or First Responders to “First of the Victims”.
They probably are to cheap to continue paying armed security officers. They better allow vary on campus.
Why not simply make invitations to psychopaths everywhere to come and shoot up your school?
You need to contact the school and let them know they will not be receiving further funds from you.
Thank-you for your interesting post.
Unfortunately, America has changed in a dramatic way since 1963, and mostly not for the better.
The situation at Culver is just a reflection of the insanity in the rest of the country.
Does this school take federal funding assistance? If so, was pressure from the Feds to disarm the security guards applied?
Some how or other I smell a setup in progress.
A classmate replied with this info:
I wonder if the CEF board voted or was it an administrative decision? My cousin’s husband is in the Oklahoma City insurance business and has access to the school insurance rates. Surprise, rates are rising if security carries firearms due to several sealed awards to parents of children in previous attacks. The insurance providers do not comment on cases or their actuarial tables. High math, deep secret. Click on the link http://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/84079-impacts-of-armed-security-officers-on-insurance-costs
for a story on this issue.
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