2016-2017 Campus Carry Message

2016-2017 Campus Carry Message from the University President Announcing Implementation of Campus Carry Legislation on August 1, 2016

On August 1, 2016, Texas State University will implement the mandate received from the Texas Legislature that requires all public universities in the State of Texas to allow the concealed carrying of handguns by licensed holders on its premises and in its buildings subject to the restrictions imposed by statutes and by the President of the University as approved by its Board of Regents.  

Following a thoughtful process that included broad-based consultation with our students, staff, faculty, parents, and alumni and an exhaustive analysis of relevant demographic, facilities, and comparative data, I determined the appropriate Campus Carry rules for Texas State University Campuses. These rules will continue to allow the University to foster an educational environment that is safe, secure, open, tolerant, and rich with vibrant discussion, debate, academic freedom, and discourse while respecting the right of licensed holders to carry a handgun as permitted by Texas state law.  

At my direction, this Campus Carry website has been developed to inform our campus community and guests about the implementation of the Campus Carry legislation on our campuses. This website contains a robust array of resources that I hope you will find helpful as we begin our implementation process. The website contains Frequently Asked Questions about Campus Carry, links to our Campus Carry rules, the new University Policy and Procedure Statement that addresses the concealed carrying of handguns by licensed holders on University premises, General Notice Statements to be used on websites and documents, Best Practices Guidelines for Creating a Safe Classroom Environment, Best Practices Guidelines for Creating a Safe Meeting Environment, links to Campus Safety Information, and a Campus Carry Online Survey that will allow me to continue to receive your comments and suggestions about how we can continue to improve our implementation efforts.

I want to thank you all for being engaged in the process of creating our Campus Carry rules. I am proud of the way our campus community is able to have ongoing civil and respectful discourse about a controversial topic and arrive at rules that reflect an elegant compromise among the sincerely held beliefs of all community members. This ability to talk with one another, be tolerant of the views of others, and seek balanced solutions will serve us well as we are faced with other controversial matters.

Please know that safety is our highest priority. It is my intention to do a holistic review of our Campus Carry rules and processes next summer to assess how we will move forward in the future. Until that date, I invite you to provide me with continuous feedback about the Campus Carry implementation process by using the online survey that can be found on the Campus Carry website.

Sincerely,

Denise M. Trauth

President, Texas State University