Well, my 0.02. I've thought a lot about this, and I think everyone needs to head over and read the SCCC website. It seems to me that they make a great, logical, case for concealed carry for students.
I can understand how some people would get nervous about this at first, and I do think there are some special issues to work around, but I think the benefits outweigh the perceived negatives by a long shot.
First, some people think that there is one huge drunken crazy party going on on college campuses all the time. I hate to say it, but most of our young adults are a lot more self controlled than that - it's a minority that give the scene bad press, and the problem is compounded by the administrations treating the students like children instead of like the adults that they are (that goes both ways...)
Second, the type of illegal behavior that does happen on campus is controllable. My question is, instead of restricting the rights of adults 21 and older because of the bad behavior of a few, why can't the administrations control the bad behavior to begin with? That's a bad example to set for the students to begin with, and the bad behavior only happens because the administrations are inept to control it. My solution - if you are caught doing something illegal, you're expelled, no questions asked. It worked well in the high school I went to, and one or two people a year provided a good reminder for the rest of us.
(Personally, I don't agree with the 21yo drinking law... it's artificial and I think kids need to be taught to drink responsibly in the home while growing up, but like it or not, that's the law, and students should respect that - if they can't obey that rule, then they really shouldn't be at a higher education institution to being with...)
Third, I think most people use VT and other mass shootings as a reason for CC on campus. I think that's a stretch. If people know other people carry weapons, it may be a deterrent, and it could potentially help control a situation faster. However, a much better argument is all the violent crime that normally happens that gets no press; rape, muggings, assault, stalking, etc. Why shouldn't a young woman (or man) have the right to defend herself while going to and from class? For those of you who think campuses are a safe environment where this stuff doesn't happen, go check out u of chicago, u of penn, etc. There's a Mcdonalds close to u of penn that the students affectionately call mcdeath... When my sister was there, she has at least three FRIENDS become victims of violent crime.
Fourth, for those that fear that CCW folks age 21 are going to have an argument with a prof and snap and shoot them, well, no one has pointed to any stats that show that ccw folks age 21 are any different than the rest of ccw folks, and as a whole, ccw holders have a better track record than police when it comes to bad shoots. As a side effect, maybe the few arrogant professors on campus might be a little more respectful of their students if they thought they could be packing.
The one problem I can see is that of theft - so I think a good compromise would be to not allow students to keep firearms in dorm rooms (they can still carry into dorms, just not store them unattended there), but instead, provide a safe storage area close in the dorms that students could rent. Really, safe storage lockers should be provided in dorms anyway - there are other things than guns that student should be able to secure (passports, important documents, valuables, collectables, jewelry, etc...)
I also think that each campus should have an active competition shooting team and a provide firearm self defense courses.
As a side note, why hasn't a victim of violent crime taken a university or state to court for restricting their ability to defend themselves? I would think that would be an effective way to encourage change...