It’s always nice to see students standing up and taking action to effect change that they believe in, but trying to rationalize that students with concealed pistol licenses should be allowed to carry concealed firearms on Grand Valley State University’s campuses by saying they want to feel safe while on campus is just a tad ridiculous.

We, the students of GVSU, live and take classes mostly in Allendale, Mich., and let’s be honest … nothing happens here, and one look at the GVSU Police Department’s website will show that. Between 2007 and 2009, there were 282 incidents of larceny reported. Larceny is the wrongful acquisition of personal property (i.e., you left your laptop in the Kirkhof Center and someone took it), which happens everywhere. The next-highest crime reported was 13 cases of burglary, which is to break into a building or home for the purpose of committing a crime, mostly theft.

Outside of seven forcible sexual offenses (which can include anything from sexual assault to forcible penetration) during that three-year span, there have been no major crimes reported. No murders, no manslaughters, no robberies or even aggravated assaults: nothing that would warrant a victim responding with deadly force.

And despite being closer to an urban city, even less happens at the Pew Campus. From 2007 to 2009, there were only 105 reports of larceny, one report of vehicle theft and one report of burglary.

Students with CPLs argue that carrying concealed firearms would make them feel safer about their environment, but what about other students? Most students would feel much more safe knowing that it is illegal for anyone who is not a law enforcement officer to carry a firearm rather than worrying about which civilian might be carrying a gun when an argument breaks out.

And in the rare occasion that something does happen that puts student lives in danger, the GVSU Police Department is well capable and well equipped to handle such situations. Each GVSU campus is relatively small. It’s not like they have to travel across an entire city or even worry about multiple major crimes happening at once to respond to a 911 call.

And, when it comes to firearms, GVPD officers are much better trained to handle a crisis situation than Joe Schmoe, the random civilian with a CPL who takes it upon himself to intervene. In the case of a campus emergency, Lakers are in good hands — even without a concealed carry policy.