I was riding the bus on my daily commute to IU this morning when I heard the bus driver contact dispatch and inform them that a man, who 10 minutes before at a previous stop before I got on had run in front of the bus trying to get the bus driver to let him on while yelling, swearing, and flipping the driver the bird, was about to get on at the next stop. He alerted dispatch that they may have to call the police if something went down and to be on alert. My ears perked up and I began preparing for this possible threat get on the bus. Unfortunately, due to IU's no carry policy and the fact that I'm 5 years into grad school with one year left and can't afford to get kicked out, I don't carry to/on campus. I do carry my Surefire light to at least have something solid to strike with. The guy got on and...nothing...thankfully.
The frustrating thing about situations like this is that IU's no carry policy takes away someone's primary defensive tool who relies on public transportation to get to campus and can't stash it in a car. I would rather be allowed to carry on campus simply to be able to carry TO campus on the bus than just to carry on campus. I know some will say, "it's not illegal! Just cover it up well!" I understand that and I've considered it various times. But I've done the cost-benefit analysis and concluded that I've invested too much time and energy (thankfully not too much money due to grad assistant funding ) at this point to risk getting the boot. I teach classes and being in front of people so much makes it hard to carry without worrying about exposing a firearm with everyone constantly looking at me. Anyways, I thought I'd share that experience and frustration. Hopefully someday a campus carry bill gets passed in this state and many others!
The frustrating thing about situations like this is that IU's no carry policy takes away someone's primary defensive tool who relies on public transportation to get to campus and can't stash it in a car. I would rather be allowed to carry on campus simply to be able to carry TO campus on the bus than just to carry on campus. I know some will say, "it's not illegal! Just cover it up well!" I understand that and I've considered it various times. But I've done the cost-benefit analysis and concluded that I've invested too much time and energy (thankfully not too much money due to grad assistant funding ) at this point to risk getting the boot. I teach classes and being in front of people so much makes it hard to carry without worrying about exposing a firearm with everyone constantly looking at me. Anyways, I thought I'd share that experience and frustration. Hopefully someday a campus carry bill gets passed in this state and many others!