Any other shooters here in University/College

[The Grand Inquisitor]

I am.

I'm finishing up my BA in Religious Studies and Asian Languages and Literature (Kannada and Sanskrit religious literature) at the University of Iowa, and I am hopefully going to head off to the Jewish Theological Seminary at Columbia University in New York to work on a PhD in Medieval Judaism.

I've been actively shooting for about a year and a half now and I have been doing it mainly along side of being a student and I must say that it is sometimes a bit strange being in academia and also being an active shooter.

My apartment is near the U of I campus here in Iowa City, and it is just an amazing place to live - just small enough to have about everything you want, while being small enough to avoid the big city problems. Like most University towns in the world, Iowa City is a liberal and progressive town and for every farm outside of town, there is an organic grocery store here in town.

Thankfully for me there is nothing wrong with that, I tend to be very politically and socially progressive (although I tend to be very conservative about my own life) and it is enjoyable to be in an area where the contemplative life is appreciated and not strange.

Except one thing-----I like to shoot.


Agghhh!

Gun control is a hot topic for some people here still. There isn't very much gun crime here, and there hasn't been a gun related murder in the few years I've here to the best of my knowledge. Last year a pet store was robbed with an AR-15 (yes...you read that correctly...a pet store) and about 3 months ago the apartment building next to mine (which is filled with loud, annoying drunken idiots) was armed at gunpoint by some guys from out of town who had sold the idiots some pot earlier in the night.

So by and large there isn't much gun crime to make a legitimate call for gun control.

This hasn't stopped some people, including University administration, local government, and even a small amount of professors; and one of the strangest turn of events was that the very conservative and republicanChief of Police came out and said he would not allow any CCW's in Johnson County, and he even has sone quite a bit of acitivism against civilian ownership of firearms. One of my strangest experiances was doing a seminar (small class of 5-10 students working very cloesly with a professor doing new research on a given topic) on the South Asian epic poem (100,000 meters of verse, called Shloka's), The Mahabharata, and the professor, who is a great and bright guy whom I dearly respect, went into his interpretation of a small story within the text and went on a 30 minute speech on the need to control firearms because civilians just do not have the knowledge and ability to use them.

Anyways, any other shooters here, or does anyone have any good stories about your experiances as a shooter in higher education?

 

[DesertEagle613]

I don't know if you'd call me a shooter, since the last time I've fired a gun was two summers ago

But I'm at Yeshiva University in Manhattan, and today we were just talking informally about forming a student militia. We are in a very bad neighborhood, and we periodically have problems with the locals. A few days ago a student was held up by three armed men, while inside the University-provided apartment building!!

Sadly, there is a no-guns policy. Add that to NYC's restrictive gun laws, and I think our talk about a militia is just talk. But we are getting very angry about having to worry about drug-dealers and muggers...

 

[El Guero]

Well, I'm a freshman at Creighton University in Omaha, and I've missed shooting a little. Home is only an hour away in Lincoln, though, and I got to go shoot sporting clays for the first time over my fall break.

I haven't really met much opposition when I talk about how much I like guns. Most of my friends around here are pretty indifferent towards guns, since we've all grown up with video games and can see all the places where they come in handy.

I haven't really talked about firearms in any of my classes yet, although I met a guy who is in AFROTC who was similarly interested in guns. When people see me looking at gun stuff, they always joke around "Remind me not to piss you off", and I think it's pretty funny. One day the guys on my floor were ribbing our resident uber-conservative, saying something about how Bush lets us buy AK-47s now. They were just giving them crap, but one guy from ROTC thought the Assault Weapon Ban was an Automatic Weapon Ban so I set him straight on that. He was pretty receptive about it after he found out the ban was fairly worthless.

Well, that sums up my firearms experience in college.

 

[BigBlueEyedDevil]

Everybody at school knows I am pro-gun. I wear Glock, Berreta, etc. t-shirts. I take my friends shooting. Some of my teachers call me a nut but I correct them and tell them i'm a "firearms enthusiast."

 

[MoNsTeR]

Studying graduate economics at George Mason University. I hear the student body has a Republican tendency, but the economics department (students and faculty both) are overwhelmingly libertarian. Besides me there are at least 3 other shooters in this year's crop of PhD students. We're trying to make a regular outing to the NRA HQ range on weekends. I guess I've got it easy

 

[cfabe]

I'm a senior at Kettering University in michigan. It's an engineering-only school and is not the typical college dempgraphic you'd find at most liberal arts or gen ed schools. Mostly white midweswtern middle/upper class male students. We had a student election for the president and bush won by a 30% margin.

I've met lots of guys and a few girls here who are at least somewhat interested in guns and only one guy who was a devout anti. We have a 'trap and skeet' club that does all types of shooting, but the administration will only pay for shotgun shells, not rifle or pistol ammo, but will pay for range fees for pistol/rifle. There are around 2000 students here at the moment and we just had a turnout of 35 people at our last shooting event. We have to keep the pistol activites in the background and keep the appearance of a sporting club to keep in good graces with administration. No guns allowed on campus, but you can check them with campus security during business hours if you can find the chief. Most students live off campus so this isn't a big problem, just freshmen live in the dorms.

 

[psyopspec]

Yep, attend a university in Minnesota here, but I live off campus and across the state line in North Dakota for the sole reason that I can own firearms and CCW without a hassle. I've been fairly open about it and regularly take fellow students shooting. Surprisingly, it's most often liberals who want to "see what the hype is about" for guns in politics, or female students wanting to conquer a fear of firearms.

Naturally, with being fairly open as a sporting shooter, I get the dirty looks and the hotheads who disagree respectfully. One could even criticize the wisdom of allowing others to know of my firearms ownership. There's a cost, but I believe I've brought much more to the cause than I've lost personally. I've turned at least 4 fellow students into safe, law abiding gun owners who shoot for sport or self defense. Many others I've been able to reason with rationally, and many who were anti gun or nuetral lean pro after shooting and realizing that firearms are inanimate objects and that the people who use them are, for the most part, level headed appreciators of the constitution.

 

[Tag]

Finishing up my junior year at Norther Michigan University. I also have had to bite my toung more than once during the faculties liberal rants.

 

[mcooper]

I'm a freshman at MSU, and of undeclared major though I am leaning toward engineering. I can't shoot up here because I can't even keep a gun locked in my car. SO I go home and shoot. But I am working with my state senator to get the law changed so we will see!!!

 

[Chairman]

Working on my master's degree in accounting at Brigham Young University.

Everyone who knows me very well know of the gun "enthusiasm" (habit/addiction/ etc.). Utah is a pretty gun-friendly state, so it doesn't seem to be an issue; and BYU is about as conservative as universities come. Anyone who sits behind me in class is aware as well--I spend a lot of time surfing THR, Arfcom, and Sigforum during class; I don't know what I'd do without a laptop and wireless access (I'd possibly have to pay attention all the time ).

I've taken quite a few non-gunners along on shooting trips and a couple of former roomates have been converted to certifiable gun nuts!

 

[Black Majik]

I'm a senior at Cal-State Fullerton University. I keep my gun hobby on the down-low, only my friends know I'm a shooter. While I'm not open about owning firearms or talking about it, if the topic is brought up I would not hesitate to discuss about it.

California IME is pretty anti-gun. None of my friends shoot, and while they do have fun when I bring them.... I could never convince them to buy a gun and go shoot with me.

Mentioning "gun" or "firearm" would probably get me arrested by Campus Police.

I hate having such a taboo hobby. Eh....

 

[Number 6]

I'm a senior at Cal-State Fullerton University.

I graduated from there 2 years ago with a degree in Political Science. To answer The Grand Inquisitor, I am currently getting my PhD in political science and have made myself known as being a defender of the second amendment. Some people are very troubled by this, but most of them respect me intellectually. The greatest problem I have had was with this last election. A LOT of the people in my department felt that people who voted for Bush were stupid and ignorant. Finally I got fed up and laid into one person and asked her point blank if she thought I was stupid and ignorant. She did not have an answer for me. You will find people of all different political varieties in graduate school. Generally academia is fairly liberal and you will get some people that think their left wing view is the only way to see the world. On the other hand there are many people that will respectfully disagree with you and rationally discuss social issues with you. One of my friends in my department was a Marxist revolutionary in Latin America for several years. She and I could not disagree more politically, but she is a very tolerant person and is also a very reasonable person who I have an immense respect for intellectually. Generally my colleagues do not agree with me, but there is a mutual respect shared by all of us in terms of our intellect and our political reasoning.

 

[Bridger]

I don't know if you'd call me a shooter, since the last time I've fired a gun was two summers ago

But I'm at Yeshiva University in Manhattan, and today we were just talking informally about forming a student militia. We are in a very bad neighborhood, and we periodically have problems with the locals. A few days ago a student was held up by three armed men, while inside the University-provided apartment building!!

Sadly, there is a no-guns policy. Add that to NYC's restrictive gun laws, and I think our talk about a militia is just talk. But we are getting very angry about having to worry about drug-dealers and muggers...

Hey, I live right next to the dorm for the women's part of Yeshiva! I think it's Stern college right? I guess that other parts of Yeshiva are in not such nice places, then again I don't do much in the city except go to school.

I go to school at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York. I'm outspoken about my hobby and don't hesitate to talk about it. That really is the future of our sport and our rights, it has to be spoken about! Too often the common image is "NRA whacko who wants to arm criminals!". But so many people don't even know a single thing about the NRA other than what they hear from the Brady Campaign etc. That's where most of their gun information comes from as well, and the only way that we are going to keep our rights is to educate people, talk about shooting and RKBA and why it is important, and try to bring people to our side or at least have them neutral on it, rather than anti-gun. There are some risks to being known as the gun-guy, but there is a far greater risk in letting people think that gun owners are a bunch of crazies.

 

[corncob]

I will finish my BS in mechanical engineering at the University of South Carolina in the spring. In the department I am the resident angry libertarian/gun nut, but it is a roll that suits me. I live with my wife off campus, so I go shooting when I want. I try to take people from school out to the range for a little exposure whenever I can.

 

[theCZ]

I'm finishing up my 4th year at the U of Montana in Missoula. I swear Missoula is the only town where you will overhear hippies talking about the buck they just shot, or how many ducks they got over the weekend. That being said, there are a lot of students from the east coast that are rabidly anti-gun. I lived in the dorms for the last 3 years, and we had to keep our guns stored in a special room and sign for them. A couple of times people would yell at me out of their windows as I walked back in with a shotgun over my shoulder, calling me a "Murderer" or a "sniper" if I had a rifle. Last year I started a UM shooting team to get together with like minded students and shoot trap, skeet, and ipsc. Truth be told, I secretly loved the scared looks some people would get when I walked into a dorm carrying a rifle.

 

[Brian41]

I am a senior at Carson-Newman college outside Knoxville TN. Overall i would say that this is a pretty conservative area, lots of hunting, etc. I've found several folks here that are almost as interested in firearms as I am, most of them just like to hunt, and the sort... and still most of those who know i CCW think i am crazy for carrying a gun around here, then they realy flip when they realize that i keep a round in the chamber when i carry.... oh well

 

[ny32182]

I am a senior in computer engineering at Clemson University.

I've lived off campus for years, so the guns haven't been a problem to have. I had one shooting buddy who was also a student, but he graduated already. Other than that, the only time firearms comes up is occasionally on the school's forum that I post on (much like this one). I usually have a firearm graphic of some kind in my avatar or sig. Occasionally someone asks about it, but being a fairly rural area, the school is less liberal, and less hardcore-anti-gun than many others across the nation.

In fact, someone posted a thread about the XM-8 just yesterday, and it wasn't me.

 

[The Grand Inquisitor]

I think it need sto be brought up that it is not just "liberals" that are anti-gun, and in fact it is many of the most conservative groups that will come out against private ownership of firearms. Here in Iowa our most ravenous anti-gun politicians tend to be those who are the most right wing and the most obsessed with "security".

Since 9/11 there is one man here in the State government who would love to lock up everyone who owns a gun, has slightly brown skin, and doesn't think he is always right.

Takes all kinds - don't expect the "conservative" right to protect 2nd Amendment rights...just ask a cop.

 

[SpookyPistolero]

I'm a senior at the University of Kentucky. Im a Biology and Chemistry major. Woohoo... :banghead:

I get pretty sick of all the left leaning loudmouths on campus, students and faculty. There is a hunter ( 90% hunter/10% shooter) I work with who actually says he would be fine with gun registration/no place for 'hi-cap' mags/etc, and he is about as pro-gun as I have seen on campus. I have yet to meet a true fellow enthusiast. Anyway, I am almost always sporting my IDPA hat around campus, so if there is another shooter there, I wont be hard to spot.

If anyone around here really new I carried, and did so virtually everywhere, they would flip out and I would probably end up surrounded by boys in blue. People must go through life with massive blinders to not see the need for a form of personal protection in this day and age, and especially to ridicule and cajole someone else for their choice.

It does get very tiresome to constantly feel like a pilgrim in an uholy land.

Take care-

 

[kngflp]

Me too

Psych major at University of Memphis, almost done, I know a few other shooters at school.

 

[mfree]

Finished with an AS in computer science at pellissippi state in Knoxville, going back for a tech certificate in computer aided manufacturing, and I'll likely pursue another AS later in photography.

I like being a student

 

[squadfounder]

I just graduated from OSU, and while I don't get to the range as much as I'd like, I do enjoy a day of shooting or the occasional trip to Zanesville to hunt with a friend who lives there.

By and large, I've haven't had too many problems in the university environment, even from liberals, as most are more concerned about getting troops out of Iraq or preaching about our healthcare system than whether or not I should have a gun. I've met a couple true enthusiasts, including a psychology professor who was an avid 2nd amendment supporter. When I go back for grad school I will try to continue to push the fact that I, like most shooters, are responsible, educated people who are not a threat to society.

 

[hillbilly]

Depends on how you define "in college."

I an English instructor at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. I'm also the adviser and coach for the air rifle club team we recently started here.

How's that for "in college?"

hillbilly

 

[Marnoot]

Yup, almost done with my bachelors in information systems management at Brigham Young University. I also work on campus with a flaming liberal, we have the occasional bout about gun control, but generally most people here are gun friendly. I sit on the front row in most of my classes, so everyone behind me has seen me on gun sites on my laptop plenty during class, I'm sure. No gasps of horror, yet.

 

[Edmond]

Senior here in Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois Chicago. I don't really talk to many people since we're mainly a commuter school so I keep to my self.

I will be graduating in May with a BA in CRJ; all my CRJ classes will be done in 2 weeks, just have to finish a 3 hour math class next semester. If I can get all my psychology classes next semester, I will have my Bachelors in general psychology by December of 2005.