We researched the weapons policies of the largest education institutions in Virginia, including 15 public and 23 non-profit universities. We visited each site individually. In most cases these policies are found on either the Public Safety page, or the Student Handbook. If a school is not on this list it is because we could not find a public-facing policy. In some cases, the most recent policy is from a previous year. The list is not exhaustive, but a sampling of the most well-known institutions.
Public Universities (15):
- Christopher Newport University
- College of William & Mary
- George Mason University
- James Madison University
- Longwood University
- Norfolk State University
- Old Dominion University
- Radford University
- University of Mary Washington
- University of Virginia
- University of Virginia’s College at Wise
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Virginia Military Institute
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)
- Virginia State University
Private Nonprofit (23):
- Averett University
- Bluefield University
- Bridgewater College
- Christendom College
- Eastern Mennonite University
- Emory & Henry University
- Ferrum College
- Hampden-Sydney College
- Hampton University
- Hollins University
- Liberty University
- Mary Baldwin University
- Marymount University
- Patrick Henry College
- Randolph-Macon College
- Regent University
- Roanoke College
- Shenandoah University
- University of Lynchburg
- University of Richmond
- Virginia Union University
- Virginia Wesleyan University
- Washington and Lee University
The few universities that also ban body armor are just absolutely appalling and reckless.
I just wonder how the folks behind those policies would react if they saw someone wearing body armor at an airport or on a plane. Contrary to popular belief, there isn’t a federal law against doing so (despite rampant urban legends) and there’s a YouTuber (Tactical Karl) who (himself and his wife) has done it a few times.
So I looked at 3 in the list.
They were all the same, summary: unless you are a police officer, you are blanket PROHIBITED.
Including storing in your personal vehicle. That means you are disarmed and helpless while traveling to and from campus, as well as on campus. This includes Old Dominion which just had an ISIS shooting killing and wounding several.
Even including VMI – VA Military Institute.
I’ve seen enough.