In an era when school shootings are no longer "the unthinkable," most students here remain far from the line of fire, tucked away in supposedly safe communities.
But even Dartmouth students have not remained totally unaffected by the widely-publicized acts of gun violence that have shocked the nation time and time again over the past few years.
Right after the Columbine massacre in Littleton, Colo., in April 1999, Elysa Goldman '02 said, "It's affecting the whole Denver community. These are people you know. It's real life."
And Yale Dieckmann '00, who called Littleton "the epitome of suburbia" said, "There's always the fear that something like this will happen again. It's one thing to read about these places in West Virginia and Arkansas and Washington state, and it's another thing to have it happen five to six miles from your house. It makes it a lot more real."
By and large, however, the students who talked to The Dartmouth this week said they had not been directly affected by gun violence. Long Island native Tara Maller '03, who has never witnessed first-hand effects of gun violence, seemed to speak for the majority of the student body here.
Only approximately half of students interviewed personally knew gun owners, mostly hunting gun owners. "I'm from Idaho, so my family owns about three," said Audrey Campbell '02. And avid hunter and Texan George Storm '04 is a gun owner himself.
Two students shared stories of friends harmed by gun violence, including Annalisa Harrington '02.While gun violence was never a major problem in her home community in Northern Minnesota, one of her friends was held up at gunpoint, Harrington recalled.
Chris Lentz '02 revealed that he ran into gun-related problems last year when he was caught carrying a BB gun outside of Theta Delta Chi fraternity. He said he received reprimand from the College.
Students are not allowed to possess or use a firearm in or around Hanover without a permit issued by College Proctor Bob McEwen. Such a permit can only be issued once a student has passed the standard N.R.A. hunter safety course. Even after such a permit has been issued, students are not allowed to keep firearms in any campus residence halls or other buildings, including Greek houses, overnight.
However, Safety and Security officer Lauren Cummings told The Dartmouth in a past interview that students who keep firearms in the S&S arsenal can sign them out at any time.
Although some students reported being involved somehow in minor gun accidents throughout their lives, few reported any personal connection with gun violence and all students expressed faith in the safety and security of Dartmouth and their respective home communities.
On the national front
But this sense of security generally did not extend to society as a whole, with all students seeing gun violence as a national problem.
"From what I see on the news," gun violence is a problem nationally, according to Amanda Herring '02.
"In areas where respect for guns and life aren't there," gun violence occurs, Campbell agreed.
Storm's concerns rested more with the lack of proper safety training for many gun owners rather than urban violence. "I'm from a small town so don't know a lot about large city violence," Storm said.
With nearly all seeing gun violence as a major social problem, many turn to various gun control measures to help combat high rates of violent crime.
Stronger gun control laws, such as stricter gun registration laws and more thorough background checks would help, Maller said.
Currently even convicted felons can purchase guns at gun shows, according to Storm, and he believes that background checks "to see if a person is legit" would be valuable.
In addition, teaching gun owners general safety might help eliminate hunting accidents and ensure younger owners understand the responsibility involved in gun ownership, Storm said.
When Storm applied for his hunting license, for example, he and other under-18 year olds were required to attend and pass a safety class funded by the state.
But when guns are around the house and small children, parents need to take the proactive role in educating their children, Storm believes, citing a personal experience in which a 12 "year- old acquaintance "didn't realize how dangerous it [the gun] was and thought it was just a funny toy."
Looking Abroad
Comparing gun ownership and rates of violence across the Atlantic, Eric Smillie '02 noted that European nations, with much stricter gun regulations, are much less violent.
To the north, Canada also has much stricter gun regulations and substantially lower rates of violent crime.
Vancouver native Jerry Wang '04 explained that handguns are illegal throughout Canada, and only those with a hunting license can own rifles designed for hunting. "The law has been in place for a while, so the social norm is just that you don't have a gun," Wang explained.
But yet "those inclined to owning guns still get them," Wang said, though he does believe a similar policy implemented in the United States would help lower violent crime rates.
A legislative cure
Storm agrees that "many problems stem from illegal guns and handguns," and thus gun control alone cannot solve the problem.
Harrington shares similar concerns that "a lot of policy that goes through isn't effective in keeping guns away," citing stories of criminals who obtain guns despite background checks.
Although Erika Nelson '01 agrees with most measures touted by gun control advocates, she feels such measures "shouldn't be punitive and should stay within reason."
"Gun control measures, when not too extreme, are good, but there are still places where guns are usable, so a complete ban isn't necessary," Campbell said.
While Smillie sees gun control as important, he "doesn't like the idea of losing a right."
Others agreed with Sasha Earnheart-Gold '04 that "it's kind of a fine line between the right to bear arms written in the Constitution and legislation necessary to insure safety."
According to Elizabeth Keller '01,"the more laws, the closer we are to not having the right at all."
"It's not the government's place. They can't fix the problems that produce violence," she added.
Smillie also sees violent crime as "a problem of larger society," one broader than that can be solved by gun control measures alone.
But as Lentz sees it, most of those fighting for the right to bear arms "are fighting for it mostly for what it represents, which is silly. It's a moot point; it's time to move on."
