On Tuesday, May 10, the students of Portland State University participated in a "walkout." The walkout was staged in protest over the gun policy for the university's armed security guards.
Around 150 people -- mostly students -- walked out of the dormitories, cafeteria, and classes at noon. They met all together in the South Park Blocks, in front of the Branford Price Millar Library, uniting to make their voices one.
The arming of the university's security was approved in December 2014 by the Board of Trustees. Since the approval, "Disarm PSU" a group focused on taming the gun control over the security guards on campus. The group has staged multiple protests in an attempt to have the Board of Trustees officially disarm the guards.
Many of those who participated in Tuesday's protest arrived with signs, megaphones, and impacting chants. Some of them came wearing Black Lives Matter shirts. Several of the repetitive chants were about the so-called "militarization" of Portland State University. A couple of students stood on the steps of the Millar Library and held a sign that read, "Police State University."
"It's the biggest action we've had. It's unacceptable to create reforms like this that affect students so much and include students so little," said student leader Olivia Pace. Pace also stated that the organizers who gathered were demanding that Portland State University remove all guns from campus.
Pace said there have been a few conversations with the university's leaders since March when the Disarm PSU group interrupted a Board of Trustees meeting. But the students are refusing to hold a closed-door meeting with administrators.
Wait, why are students refusing to hold a closed-door meeting?
"They talk about how we're too confrontational," said Pace. "But we only became confrontational after two years of trying to engage with them through 'the proper channels' that they liked. They never listened."
However, it doesn't look like there are any plans to remove the guns anytime soon. In an email, University spokesman Scott Gallagher stated, "The Board has no plans to revisit that decision."
Portland State University says they are an urban campus with over 30,000 students, that is one of the several reasons why they voted to arm the guards. The guards will be able to use their firearms in the event that there is an active shooter on campus.
For now, it seems that the Portland State University guards will remain armed and some students are OK with that on campus.
"I'm actually pretty neutral about the situation," said undergraduate Serena Corbett. "However, I think because I've experienced a school shooting, and am not a part of a minority that might feel attacked by having armed guards, I'm not entirely against them being armed."
Many of the students that attended Tuesday's protest also participated in a "die-in," that blocked a large section of SW 4th Avenue.
Portland State University is not the only Oregon University that has armed guards on campus. The University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and the Oregon Health and Science University also have armed security on campus.
