Firearms/Weapons Policy

Policy
University policy strictly prohibits the possession or use of firearms or other weapons of any kind on campus by anyone except law-enforcement officials. That possession includes but is not limited to storage in lockers, desks, briefcases, or personal vehicles parked on university property. With respect to University personnel (faculty, staff and student staff), possession of firearms or other weapons of any kind on campus or while away from campus on University business is subject to corrective action, up to and including termination of employment. With respect to students, possession of firearms or other weapons of any kind on campus or while away from campus on University-sponsored activity is subject to sanctions up to and including expulsion. Sanctions will be imposed in accordance with the procedures of the Student Integrity Code, Staff Policies and Procedures Manual, or Faculty Code, as appropriate. With respect to visitors, possession of firearms or other weapons of any kind is subject to expulsion from campus by Security Services.

 All students, faculty, and staff who have knowledge of weapons on campus must report that knowledge immediately to the Director of Security Services or, in the Director’s absence, an on-duty Security Officer.

Search
In cases of suspected possession of firearms or weapons of any kind by University personnel (faculty, staff and student staff), the University reserves the right, as stipulated in the Privacy and Appropriate Use of Resources policy, to search personal belongings on University property, including but not limited to articles of clothing, purses, briefcases, bags, and vehicles. All such searches must be approved in advance by the Vice President for Finance and Administration or the Director of Human Resources in the case of staff, or the Academic Vice President in the case of faculty, or the Vice President of Student Affairs in the case of students. In the absence of the pertinent individual, the president must authorize the search. Persons may be asked to leave campus or remain in the presence of Security Services or Tacoma Police until a search is conducted or the situation is resolved.

The search will normally be conducted in private by an appropriate supervisor, department head, or Security Services representative with a third person normally present. Although an individual, or an individual’s personal property, will not be searched without consent under the circumstances described above, that individual’s consent to such a search is required as a condition of enrollment or employment, and refusal to consent will result in corrective action up to and including expulsion or termination of employment under procedures specified by the Student Integrity Code, Staff Policies and Procedures Manual, or the Faculty Code as appropriate. 

Applicability
The above policy applies to anyone on the Puget Sound campus, including University personnel, students, and visitors. It also applies to University personnel and students away from campus on University business or University sponsored activity.

Origination Date: 11/2002