College Instructor Attempts to Quarantine Concealed Carriers
Russ Chastain 08.24.18
It’s been reported that a teaching assistant (TA) at the University of Utah briefly quarantined legal gun carriers to a “Second Amendment zone” that was essentially a 3-foot-square area in the back of the classroom without desks or chairs.
Happily, the situation was quickly remedied:
Upon being alerted to the situation, the university promptly overruled the instructor and assigned them to non-teaching duties for the duration of the semester.
In a Facebook post, Utah state Representative Karianne Lisonbee had this to say:
Great news! I have been assured that this teacher has been reprimanded for publishing a syllabus against University policy. She was asked and has issued an apology to her students. Her syllabus has been retracted by the University and they are committed to making sure that she receives proper training. Thank you to the University and to the brave students who raised this issue. The price of liberty is constant vigilance. Please share!
The misguided TA was clearly promoting a personal anti-gun agenda, as evidenced by the language in her syllabus:
Concealed carry is protected under your second amendment rights! However, because the University of Utah reserves the right to restrict elements of the first amendment on campus to specifically sanctioned ‘free speech zones’ I am reserving the right to restrict elements of the second amendment in my own classroom. If you feel that it is somehow at all appropriate to bring a gun to class (hint: it is not — this is absurd, antisocial, and frightening behavior), you are restricted to spending your time in class in my ‘second amendment zone’ a 3×3 taped square on the floor in the very back of the classroom, that will be shared with all other gun carriers. This zone also does not include a desk, because desks are reserved for students who respect the personal and psychological safety of their classmates and instructor.
I’m thankful that university management took care of this issue promptly and efficiently. A university spokesperson had this to say:
University of Utah officials recently learned that a graduate teaching assistant included a statement in an undergraduate course syllabus that violated both state law and university policy. The statement has been removed from the syllabus and students in the class have been alerted to the error.
The graduate student instructor has apologized and has received additional training about the university’s policies [and] will not teach this semester and will instead have other assignments.
Nice.
