Delaware Tech discusses arming teachers following Florida shooting.

Following the president's tweets after the shooting in Parkland, Florida students on the Owens campus of Delaware Tech seem to almost unanimously agree that arming teachers is not the solution that some hope it will be.

trump's initial tweet calling to arm teachers

photo credit: Twitter.com

While students were supportive about increased security in our schools, an overwhelming majority of students say that the president's plan to arm teachers does not make them feel any safer.

Human Services student Alex DeRiemer said "That's a band-aid to a much larger problem"

DeRiemer expressed doubt that more guns were the answer saying, "That's like saying if there's a forest fire, let's go light another forest fire to put it out, it makes no sense to me"

Ryan Cromer, an Elementary Education student said that he can see much larger issues stem from the decision to arm teachers while not solving any existing issues.

When asked to elaborate, Cromer said that his biggest concern would be the possibility of racial profiling like we see in the justice system

"I can already see it now," said Cromer, "a teacher saying 'that black student was being aggressive, so I had to shoot him'."

It is known that black men are nearly three times more likely to die from excessive force from police despite the fact that officers are trained to handle high-stress situations daily. It is unlikely that teachers who do not have the training and experience with high-stress situations would fare any better.

Other students had concerns about the possibility of gun related accidents rather than bad-decision making if we put firearms in the hands of people who are not qualified to handle them in a setting that does not call for them.

"I mean seriously, why would you arm teacher with guns in classrooms though." said Criminal Justice student Amir Kellam, "they going to hurt themselves and the kids in the classrooms."

Fears like this have already been justified since President Trump's tweet in Utah, where a teacher was shot in the leg by her own concealed weapon when it misfired.

"A lot the the teachers we have aren't capable..." said Information Security Analysis student Cole Revel when talking about teachers' ability to carry firearms.

Revel did, however support adding more security in schools in the form of retired officers or military veterans who have the experience of handling firearms in high-intensity situations. Revel was not the only student who offered a solution like this.

Paralegal Devon Hinton said that the idea of arming teachers was "the biggest joke ever" and went on to give her alternative solution, "we have thousands of unemployed veterans who need a job, who are trained and know how to use a gun. Let's put them at our schools to keep our schools safe.".

Only one student interviewed agreed that teachers should have access to firearms in school.

"You never know what can happen." said Entrepreneurship student Shamirah Smith.

Smith went on to say that arming teachers would put them in a better position to defend themselves and their students in the event of a school shooting if they had access to a firearm and not just materials found in classrooms.