When I heard UF's response to the NIU shooting, I had about the same response as the Editorial Board. A shooting can take less than a minute, so what will a text message system accomplish? By the time the administration is even notified to send out a text alert the shooting will probably be over.
What about UPD? Shootings happen so quickly that unless a police officer is on the scene when the shooting starts, many people can be killed or hurt in the time it takes police to respond. So what can make our campus safer? Revoke UF's status as a "gun-free zone."
Such legislation is naive anyway - the only people who listen to these regulations are law-abiding citizens. Many studies have demonstrated that allowing the general population to carry weapons decreases the amount of violent crime. Gun-free zones don't protect people. They just make targets. Allowing properly trained citizens to carry weapons is a strong deterrent against gun violence.
For those of you who don't like the idea that the person sitting next to you in class might have a gun, just remember: With nearly 500,000 concealed-carry permits in the state of Florida, you've probably walked past a person with a gun dozens of times in your life without incident.
