What’s Your Status: Are College Shootings the New Norm?

Every 72 hours, gun violence occurs in the United States. A total of 53,143 gun related incidents happened last year in 2015. Approximately 45 of them occurred on higher education establishments according to the Huffington Post. In Texas, there were an estimated two college campus shootings. One in which took place on the same day of a tour I scheduled – October 9th.

Just moments after entering Houston’s city limits, I received a call informing me that my tour was cancelled. Half an hour later, I discovered the campus was on lock down due to an altercation between three individuals at the Tierwester Oaks section of the University Courtyard apartment complex. Had my tour been scheduled earlier than it’s original time, I could’ve been a victim. This uncomfortable realization inspired me to write about gun violence for my Just A Thought segment.

At the beginning of my junior year, I found it mandatory to look at campus safety, rules and regulations. I read about the basics; preventing harassment, theft, etc. However, a fatal mass shooting never seemed to haunt my thoughts as frequently as it does now that I’m about to graduate. It’s not fair that there are policies such as House Bill 9-10 that can be used as tools to frighten young people from wanting to pursue higher education. Where is the leveled playing field? How is the younger generation supposed to take advantage of their future when they’re terrified of being gunned down at school?

Below are two commentaries I posted regarding gun violence:

Are College Shootings the New Norm?

Gun Control in 2016…

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