The following resolution was enacted by the Faculty Senate of Houston Community College on April 8 in opposition to campus carry.

A FACULTY SENATE RESOLUTION IN

OPPOSITION TO FIREARMS ON CAMPUS

WHEREAS The Houston Community College Faculty Senate has endorsed the Faculty Senate of the University of Houston’s Resolution regarding Texas Senate Bill 11;

BE IT NOW RESOLVED THAT THE FACULTY OF HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

* Strongly objects to the presence of all guns on campus, except when carried by duly authorized law officers;

* asserts that it cannot effectively carry out its core mission as “an open-admission, public institution of higher education offering a high-quality, affordable education for academic advancement, workforce training, career development, and lifelong learning to prepare individuals in our diverse communities for life and work in a global and technological society” when faculty and staff have to be concerned about the presence of firearms in the possession of persons other than duly authorized law officers;

* respectfully asks the Board of Trustees of Houston Community College and the Chancellor of Houston Community College to protect academic freedom and discourse and the diverse populations of students, faculty, and staff by maintaining the strictest limits possible regarding the legal presence of deadly weapons on and in College campuses and facilities.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE FACULTY OF HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

* respectfully asks that the Chancellor of Houston Community College develop compensated training for both legal conceal carry gun licensees and faculty and staff regarding both de-escalation of potentially stressful situations and appropriate expectations of behaviors in classroom situations; AND

* asks the Trustees and Chancellor to petition the Texas State Legislature to restore the protected academic space envisioned by the founders of the United States of America.

BE IT FURTHER NOTED THAT

The Faculty of Houston Community College supports the First Amendment and Academic Freedom rights of its individual members to voice their opinions in this regard in publications, in public statements, in campus spaces, and in instruction.