Western Sydney University student proposes guns on campuses

The president of a university representative body has called for students to be encouraged to carry guns on campus in response to the US shootings.

Daniel Bonatti, chair of Western Sydney University’s Student Representative Council, recently tabled a motion in support of students’ right to ‘bear arms’.

“Mass shootings at educational institutions and universities in the US are a daily occurrence,” student newspaper W’SUP quoted Mr Bonatti as saying.

‘Now that SRC has collectives and equality groups, the women’s rooms, chaplains’ rooms, Christian and Muslim prayer rooms, gays and indigenous are the front lines of the target.

“Students should have the right to keep and bear arms in self-defense… I (Daniel Bonatti) state that: The Student Council of Western Sydney University supports in principle the right to keep and bear arms.”

Students and staff at South East University of North Carolina were terrorized in August by a gunman who fatally shot a faculty member on the first day of a new semester.

In February, three students were killed and five others injured in a mass shooting at Michigan State University in the northeast of America.

There have also been a number of shootings reported at American high schools this year.

Sydney has seen a spate of deadly shootings on its streets in particular in July, but police have linked these to a gangland war and none have taken place on a university campus.

The Western Sydney University Representative Council voted unanimously to reject the proposal, including Romonda Eid, the second mover of the motion.

She said her secondment was a mistake because she misinterpreted the contents of the motion.

Opposing the motion, Vice President Bayan Sohailee said campuses should be kept “gun-free.”

Another student representative Laine Fox called it a “disgusting motion.”

“I didn’t say anything disgusting,” Bonatti replied.

“I have clearly expressed a position that exists in a country of 330 million people, which is the right to bear arms.”

Mr Bonatti continued to claim there were serious security risks on the Bankstown campus, which has easy access to safe areas such as the gay rooms and prayer rooms.

Western Sydney University’s Bankstown campus was identified as particularly vulnerable

A student hugs a family member from Shoultes Christian Assembly after being evacuated from Marysville-Pilchuck High School in the aftermath of a shooting on the high school campus in Marysville, Washington

Other students, however, called the idea “crazy.”

A university spokesperson told news.com.au they “take the safety of our students and staff seriously.”

“All of our campuses are monitored by security 24 hours a day, including our Bankstown City campus,” the spokesperson said.

“The Student Representative Council has not raised any security concerns with the university regarding the safety of students on the Bankstown City campus. The University welcomes the opportunity to address and address any concerns they may have.

‘Prayer rooms, LGBTIQ+ spaces and other facilities ensure that students from different backgrounds belong and are safe here at the university.’