Though America continues to grapple with its strained relationship with guns, the milieu of skepticism surrounding their existence should not change Tufts’ approach to public safety; TUPD must remain armed. Any decision to the contrary would abnegate the university’s fundamental responsibility to provide a secure environment where students and staff can thrive.
Your campus tour guide may have emphasized the safety of Tufts’ surrounding communities, Medford and Somerville. Yet, the university’s Annual Security Report tells a different story. Admittedly, the most common offenses were liquor and drug violations, which is to be expected on a college campus. Nonetheless, from 2020 to 2022, there were a total of 15 hate crimes, consisting of either intimidation or vandalism. Additionally, there were four weapons violations, nine cases of stalking, 17 cases of burglary, and 11 cases of rape reported. Though these numbers may seem modest given an undergraduate population of about 7,000, even a single case is one too many. TUPD has often intervened in such situations, using various resources—such as its threat assessment and management team, emergency medical services, and emergency management—to alleviate such issues. However, what if TUPD had to respond to a violent incident?
Many may have heard the story of the Wren Creeper, but about two years ago at Wren Hall, there were reports of a strange man lurking within student common rooms and bedrooms, which were often unlocked (against university policy). Despite multiple reports of the purported intruder entering students’ rooms, he was never caught.
If any random person can easily enter the houses and rooms of Tufts students, to say nothing of campus buildings open to the public, how long will it be until someone does this with murderous intent? While far less common than K-12 school shootings, the number of mass shootings on college campuses has risen dramatically over the last two decades. From 1966 to 2006, there were a total of four college mass shootings. From 2007 to 2024, there have been 10, including three in the last three years alone. While something like this happening at Tufts is exceedingly unlikely, we cannot behave as if such a tragedy is impossible. Just one crazed or calculated individual with a gun could perpetrate a mass casualty event at Tufts. If TUPD lacks the means to stop an armed assailant, the additional minutes it would take local police to get to campus and neutralize the threat could cost lives.
TUPD must carry firearms to protect the Tufts community. As a suburban school with a new T stop connecting the campus with the broader Metro-Boston area, Tufts will always face external (and even internal) security risks. How safe would you feel knowing that your campus police department is unable to defend you from an armed assailant? Undoubtedly, the presence of firearms when encountering an armed TUPD can sow distrust, antithetical to the agency’s role in the first place. Attending events that TUPD hosts or raising complaints through the proper university channels can help alleviate such doubts.
When you balance discomfort against the potential costs of an unarmed TUPD, the calculus becomes simple. Ridding a police department of part of its ability to keep a community safe from armed threats puts those who deserve protection in harm’s way. We cannot trade our day-to-day comfort for our existential safety and we cannot wait for something terrible to happen to realize that. There are many ways the TUPD can foster a sense of community engagement, but there is only one way they can protect the Tufts community from someone wielding a gun.
Photo by Tomás Gómez Revelo (September 15th 2024)