When Rowan students research what to pack for their dorm or apartment, mattress toppers, cheap shoes to wear to fraternity parties, and the best under-bed storage containers are often what comes to mind. Ammunition and handguns usually are not a part of that list.

On Oct. 8, 2024, NJ.com reported that a junior sports communication and media major at Rowan was arrested for owning a handgun and ammunition in his 230 Victoria residence on Monday, Oct. 7.

The search for the weapon was initiated from a series of social media posts. “Rowan Police learned Monday that a student on the school’s Glassboro campus posted multiple pictures and videos on an Instagram account showing a firearm with an extended magazine,” NJ.com reported.

The article also goes on to inform readers that the student “was arrested on charges of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm without a permit, third-degree possessing a firearm at an educational institution, third-degree possession of a firearm without a serial number (ghost gun) and fourth-degree knowingly possessing a large-capacity ammunition magazine.”

According to Rowan’s housing policies, “firearms, knives, or other weapons of any kind,” as well as “paintball, air, or BB guns,” are prohibited in any and all residence halls across campus. This means that even if the student did have a license for the firearm, which he did not, it still would be against the university’s policy to bring it into his apartment. 

Rowan did not alert students of this arrest, nor did they release a statement about the incident, as of the time that this editorial was published. 230 Victoria is one of the residence halls that houses sophomores, juniors, and seniors adjacent to Rowan Boulevard, one of the most populated streets of the campus due to its commercial shops and restaurants, as well as housing and academic buildings like the Whitney Center and The Enterprise Center. 

It is the belief of The Whit Staff that this incident should have been reported to the Rowan students and faculty immediately via Rowan Alert, and Rowan Announcer. The Whit Staff also believes that this situation should serve as a cautionary tale for what could happen when Resident Assistants (RA) and Community Assistants (CA) do not perform their duties in regularly, randomly checking the rooms of building residents to the fullest extent, for this type of contraband. 

Gun violence has a history at Rowan, with a shooting on Halloween weekend last October, as well as another shooting in an off-campus residence in January 2023. Rowan Alerts addressing this type of violence are not out of the ordinary for Rowan students. Many are not surprised anymore when these types of crimes take place. 

On a large scale, gun violence at American universities has become a growing issue over the past few years. In March of 2023, Michigan State University, a large public institution faced a mass shooting that killed three students and wounded five. According to a CNN article titled “School shootings in the US: Fast facts,” there have been thirteen school shootings this year on college campuses, with 50 in total since the beginning of the year, which is actually down from 2023’s reported numbers, where there were 82 total shootings.

Nexus Properties is the company that manages downtown Glassboro housing, such as 230 Victoria. According to their website, 230 Victoria houses over 400 students across 81 apartments. 

For Rowan to not address this incident, with such a large student population living in the building, is not only unfair to students, but it’s unsafe as well. Rowan students, more specifically on-campus residents, pay the university thousands of dollars in tuition and housing costs and deserve to have access and information concerning their safety. If that student hadn’t made that social media post, that led the Rowan Police to his room, who knows what could have happened?

It is also the responsibility of the CA’s who are managing the residents that live in on-campus housing to check the property for these kinds of items. Students know what they are signing up for living on-campus, including the policies and restrictions that are in place to protect the safety of other students. 

Rowan University found the weapon this time, but the impact of this issue is far from over. Rowan constantly talks about its growing population, but in order to care for those students, and prevent incidents like this one, Rowan’s student leaders and administration need to address this problem and do better. For the safety of its current, and future students and residents.

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