A new Texas state law going into effect on August 1 (exactly 50 years after the clocktower shootings at UT-Austin, by student and ex-marine Charles Whitman) will allow concealed handguns to be brought into public university campus buildings. This isn't sitting well with many members of the public university system, as educators and administrators are now tasked with regulating the presence of guns inside studios and classrooms, and fear that such a law will scare people away from the school (not to mention the obvious safety concerns).
Dean of the architecture school at UT-Austin, Frederick "Fritz" Steiner, has been critical of the law from its inception, and faced with having to enforce it as campus policy, was prompted to leave the school for the deanship at PennDesign.
While not the sole reason for his resignation, Steiner is adamant that such a law is simply not good for architecture education and studio culture, and joins us on the podcast to discuss.
Listen to episode 55 of Archinect Sessions, "Guns in the Studio":
Shownotes:
11 Comments
Deja Vu !
Wow Archinect is on another level ... Best Arch podcast
Amazing that standing on principle - and making astute observations about what is reasonable in an educational environment - can make someone eligible for national news! (I heard Steiner first on Morning Edition, I think.)
Are we so starved for considered criticism of public policy? (Yes.)
I appreciate Steiner accepting what may be unwanted attention in order to get his point-of-view out there. Obviously, from comments he makes in the conversation, he's got much more engaging things to share than simple concern for the safety of his students.
Glad this is being covered! Also, my sn is intended to be Andrew Of (uhv), as my twitter handle is @andrewofaustin but who knows how long I'll still be here!
Sorry to mispronounce it, Andrew!
I was in Austin recently and, of course, while on campus I googled the horrific mass shooting by Charles Whitman. How a state could allow weapons on a campus that experienced, what was I think, the first mass shooting on a college campus is so fucked up that I have no words. Whitman was picking people off from five hundred yards away from the bell tower. He killed 13 and wounded more than 30. And now these yahoos want to allow guns on a public university. When does the fucked up in the brain logic end?
human extinction
^ that's the shortest and truest post of yours so far Rick
Hmm, either I can stay in a gun-toting hellscape or go somewhere where I won't be shot, tough decision!
and Vado, no kid will get all inspired either...
Odds of being a victim of a violent crime in Austin, Texas, is 1 in 243. The odds of being a victim of a violent crime in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where this butterfly landed is 1 in 97.
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