Texas Christian University Opts Out of Campus Carry

Texas Christian University is opting out of Senate Bill 11 – that allows concealed carry of handguns on campuses of Texas universities – and keeping gun bans intact on campus. They are the first of Texas’ major private institutions to make the announcement.

TCU’s board of trustees announced the vote on Thursday, November 13, and said they made their decision after listening to extensive on-campus discussion on the topic in the form of debates, forums and surveys. The board voted to opt out based on that feedback, according to a TCU press release.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Kathy Cavins-Tull said of the decision in a press release, “It was quite clear that no matter which side of the issue each person felt was best, all cared deeply about the safety of the community.”

A new set of strategies and policies are being developed in response to Senate Bill 11, according to TCU, but it is unclear what for.

TCU also released some information on the current state of security on campus including statistics on personnel and ratio of security to students including:

• There are 28 officers in the TCU police department, which is manned 24-hours per day; 22 are former Fort Worth officers.
• A 13-member security force supplements the police department.
• There are two-and-a-quarter officers per 1,000 students/faculty/staff members.
• More than 2,000 security cameras are present on campus.

Additionally, TCU has made emergency preparedness instructional videos available online through tcuemergency.tcu.edu.