Something that almost everyone, if not everyone, has been informed about is how terrible violence on College Campuses have been. It has gotten to the point where some parents are scared or frightened to send their children off to far schools or really far away from home. This issue has begun to get me thinking and wondering how I'm going to feel sending my children away on their own, and have to be worried about this issue. There's no telling how this issue will be like in the upcoming decade[s]. In addition to that, seeing how my friends and I are all students at a major university, we are always concerned about how we could protect ourselves if something were to arise. That is why I am interested in this topic and that is how it relates to me. However, I have very little qualifications on being able to write about this topic, but it is something that I strongly believed needs to be fixed with a reasonable solution; With the proper precautions and making sure the pros outweigh the cons in dealing with gun control on college campuses. 

The first source that I used to research this topic was an article published by the New York Times in 2011, written by Marc Lacey. The central claim of this paper was to state a brief overview of what authorities that have a lot of knowledge on the subject had to say about what they thought about the issue. The author who wrote the news article may not have been credible to talk about the issue, however the people he interviewed definitely were. Nonetheless, since he has no knowledge on the issue and is just reporting what he has heard from people who are credible is, there is very little bias in this article. For instance, he asked multiple authorities from other college campuses nationwide on how they felt about the issue. Some said they trust their deputies and others said it would help for quicker response time if someone is right there in the area. Then there's the side of complicating other officers. So this is where the article hits you as this issue being a personal preference and taking it how you want to. 

The second source I used was an online article called "The Case Against Guns on Campus" and was written by someone with little credibility, however provided good points to back up her argument on why concealed weapons should not be allowed on campuses. The author of this article is not clearly stated by name so it can be assumed that she is not qualified to be a credible author of this article. However, she provided five specific examples such as saying college students binge drink and use excessive amounts of drugs, or how academic debate cannot flourish in a room full of guns, and even providing alternatives such as strengthen background checks and don't arm everyone. Within each of these examples, she provides specific examples and evidence to each of her reasons. Therefore, the values of the reasons against concealed weapons on campuses are bigger than what some would be able to see at first. But, even though she may not be completely credible, given her background, she still portrays what she believes in, in a very proactive way. 

The third source I used was a scholarly article found by using google scholar called "How Many More Guns" written by Jeffrey Bouffard. I really liked this article because of the credibility the author has. He has multiple degrees, all relating to psychology and even a degree in criminal justice. This shows that the author of this article went to school for a very long time and studied the facts about issues like this. In addition, there were 3 other authors to this that too have had a lot of experience in this department. Therefore, having all of these credible authors, provides little bias in the text. However, the actual information provided is very useful. They use real life scenarios, such as the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. They start off with this and provide evidence from what they believe and then then what the opponents believe. So this is a really good article used to show both sides, while kind of leaning towards one side. This is the main reason I feel that this article can be the one that provides the most information to me throughout this research process.

Lastly, the main evidence given on why this research question is arguable or debatable is because of the statistics and the evidence supporting each side of the issue. There are multiple of feasible claims that can influence your decision just like that. If you look at both sides, one of the statistics will lean you towards that side of the issue, but for others, the other side may get them to believe their side. That is what makes this such a debatable topic. The biggest agreement I found towards allowing concealed weapons to be carried on colleges, is response time. When the correct and appropriate precautions are taken, allowing responsible kids to carry weapons could stop a mass murder a lot quicker than waiting for authorities to arrive at the scene. Then the other side of that is the responsibility factor of your average college student. So the biggest disagreement is stating common stereotypes of every college student. For instance, "They all binge drink", or "More college students would commit suicide because everyone is stressed while in college". Therefore, adding weapons to campuses would increase deaths and violence. Seeing the disagreements on the issue do influence my thoughts on the issue a small amount, however I still believe that adding weapons to the responsible kids would help prevent mass murders. But in order to feel one hundred percent strongly on the issue, I definitely need to conduct research on statistics and more scholarly articles to enhance my knowledge on the positives of allowing concealed weapons to be carried.

