The recent decision to arm University police officers has been met with varying reactions from students. Those who support the move stress the need for police to be as prepared as possible, while some of its detractors said they plan to organize efforts to engage students and faculty and ultimately try to reverse the decision.

Some students interviewed said they opposed the presence of guns on campus while also respecting the administration's desire to create a safer campus.

Still other students said they object to the lack of community involvement in the decision-making process and have concerns over police behavior.

University President Jehuda Reinharz made the decision two weeks ago after a firearms advisory committee that met five times over the summer recommended to arm Brandeis police officers. This development came in the wake of the shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute last April, but Brandeis police argued on past occasions that they needed guns to protect themselves and the student body.

Several students expressed concerns about the new policy at a forum among activist club leaders held Sunday in the Castle Commons.

Ben Serby '10, the Activist Resource Center's liaison for Democracy for America, said his group is opposed to both the decision itself and how the administration made it. He argued that arming officers would increase the likelihood of inappropriate coercion by the police and would instill a culture of fear among students.

"The answer to gun violence is not further proliferation of firearms," he said. "We feel that this decision will result in a higher level of fear on this campus among...members of the community."

"We're somewhat dismayed by the decision on the part of the University to do this in this manner when one of the core bedrock principles of the University in its own words is social justice," Serby said.

DFA, along with Students for a Democratic Society and Students for Barack Obama, will work to reverse the decision to arm officers, Serby said. They plan to petition, hold ralleys and get professors who don't support the decision to reach out to the administration, he said.

Catherine McConnell '10, ARC liaison to the Student Peace Alliance, said that as a group, the ARC feels the decision was made without sufficient community involvement. She explained that members in ARC groups have varying opinions on arming, so the center won't take an official stance.

ARC is going to put together an informational forum because it wants to educate the campus and present all sides of the issue.

Sarah Freeman '09 said that the Brandeis community should have been involved in important decisions like this one, but that students may feel more comfortable on campus if police officers carry guns. Freeman added that police officers should only draw their weapons in very extreme cases.

David Zucker '09, a training officer for the Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps, said University Brandeis police needed to be armed because, "You never know what is going to happen" in terms of violence on campus, and that the philosophy of the police is to be prepared, for any type of situation.

BEMCo crew member, Rostic Gorbatov '09, cited another school shooting, which took place at Delaware State University Friday morning and left a female student in serious condition and a male in stable condition, in his argument for the need to arm officers. Gorbatov explained that it is safer to have immediate force always available because dangerous situations like these are always possible.

Student Union President Shreeya Sinha '09 said that she personally disagrees with having guns on campus, but she respects and understands the University's decision to arm officers.

"It is irresponsible to rule out that anything could happen anywhere at any time, and as a university, it seems only adequate or natural that they would want to do the best they can to ensure the safety of the students," Sinha said.

Joshua Manning '09 said that police officers carrying guns around campus may make people feel uncomfortable, but that the intimidation factor is a necessary tradeoff.

Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan told the Justice in March 2006 that he thought arming the police officers was unnecessary. However, the final report of the advisory committee discussed that the incident at Virginia Tech "has changed the context of these deliberations."

"We'd prefer not to have any weapons anywhere, but looking at Virginia Tech and other things that have happened, it seems as though this is the right thing to do," Prof. Marya Levenson, director of the education program and a member of the advisory committee, said in a telephone interview.

Levenson added that the committee was also concerned that it takes the Waltham Police Department two to five minutes to respond to emergency calls, and that they don't know their way around Brandeis as well as the campus officers.