By Brittany Ans
University of Colorado Chancellor Phil
DiStefano notified the Boulder campus faculty Tuesday afternoon that
professors "do not have the right to shut down a class or refuse to
teach" should they learn that one of their students is lawfully carrying
a gun under a concealed-carry permit.
And, DiStefano added, any faculty members who do so will be in violation of their contracts and face disciplinary action.
DiStefano's
message comes a day after Professor Jerry Peterson, chairman of the
Boulder Faculty Assembly, told the Daily Camera that, under his own
"personal policy," he plans to cancel class if he ever learns any of his
students are carrying firearms. A Colorado Supreme Court ruling this
spring overturned CU's Boulder campus gun ban, and university officials
say that students with conceal-carry permits are allowed to bring guns
into classrooms and labs.
"I have the utmost respect for
Professor Peterson, who is an old friend and valued colleague, but I
want to make clear that if the student carrying the weapon has a
concealed-carry permit, the position implied by Professor Peterson's
comments directly violates Colorado law and the operating principles of
the campus," DiStefano wrote in the e-mail to faculty.
Peterson
stood by his classroom policy Tuesday and said he's never had to cancel a
class. The physics professor -- who has said he simply wants his
students to feel safe to engage in discussions that could become
controversial -- reiterated that the presence of guns in his classroom
"would destroy the learning environment."
DiStefano, in his
e-mail, said canceling a class in those circumstances would discriminate
against concealed-carry permit holders and deprive other students of
the education they have paid for.
"On this issue, there can be no
ambiguity: all CU-Boulder faculty, as CU and state employees, are
expected to teach their assigned courses and to hold classes for all
enrolled students," DiStefano wrote.
Bronson Hilliard, spokesman
for the Boulder campus, said university officials appreciate that
Peterson is concerned about the safety of his students, but stressed
that students with-concealed carry permits are allowed to bring guns to
campus.
Hilliard declined to speculate on what type of
disciplinary actions professors could face if they cancel classes to
keep guns out of their classrooms, saying such cases would be handled by
department chairs.
Over the summer, CU officials ironed out
rules surrounding concealed-carry in the wake of the Supreme Court
ruling, banning guns from undergraduate dorms and the Bear Creek
Apartments, but allowing them in some family housing units, including a
dozen cottages and some units in Athens North. Students in these family
housing units must sign contracts stating that they will lock their guns
in safes when they leave their cottages or apartments.
The university also is banning guns from ticketed events, including football games and campus concerts.
http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_21366376/cu-boulder-profs-cant-cancel-classes-over-gun
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