Some hope for an OK of guns on campus :: 11/22/2011

It was about 6:30 p.m. and still light out as Jason Williams walked down E. 9th Avenue on his way to High Street.

A man approached from behind.

When Williams turned to look behind him, the man punched him in the face and tried to rob him.

Williams, who lives in Weinland Park and walks to work at Ohio State University Medical Center, escaped by running into a nearby parking garage, where there were other people.

"It makes you nervous walking alone," the 29-year-old said last week. He has changed his routine and has become more aware of who is around him.

But the experience left him worried about safety near the Ohio State campus. And he wonders: Would criminals think twice before a robbery if people were allowed to carry concealed guns on campus?

Michael Newbern of Buckeyes for Concealed Carry, an OSU student organization, thinks legislators and school administrators should lift prohibitions on carrying hidden guns on college campuses.

"Criminals are going to target the weakest, and college students, partially because of this ban, are the weakest when it comes to their self-defense," the 37-year-old engineering student from Hilliard said.

Under state law, people licensed to carry concealed weapons aren't allowed to do so on college campuses, although handguns can be kept in locked vehicles.

A recent spate of robberies near the campus has brought safety concerns to the fore. Forty-five people, including Williams, reported being robbed near the OSU campus between the beginning of October and the end of the second week of this month, according to Columbus police.