Today, four students will congregate in the cold to debate an issue currently being discussed in the Florida Legislature: concealed carry on campus. At 6 p.m., these four will meet in the Marshall Student Center Amphitheatre to share their argument and raise awareness of the issue. Each team will consist of two current USF students.
A junior majoring in political science, Michael Jenkins will open for his team with an argument against concealed carry.
He said it is important to voice the facts now, as the issue is currently in the Florida Legislature.
“We’ll bring up some things that most people who are on one side or the other, and I’ve talked to some students who are on one side or the other, they haven’t heard a full fledged debate, a full fledged someone’s actually thought about it and did research and put time down,” Jenkins said. “You know, they may be leaning on one side, but they hadn’t thought about what the other side had to say.”
The issue of on-campus concealed carry has been debated for decades, and many now-college-age students grew up with a fear of campus shootings thanks in part to incidences like the Virginia Tech shootings and the Columbine massacre.
The debate will take place at 6 p.m.
