A Call for More Research on Campus Shootings

Eighteen research centers focused on studying higher education have issued a joint call for more government and private support for research on campus shootings and violence. "Despite the alarming numbers of deaths, injuries and threats, scholars in the field of higher education have received too few resources to rigorously study the undercurrents and effects of gun violence on college campuses," says the joint statement. It urges more research on such topics as mental health of college students, responses to concerns about campus safety, the overrepresentation of college males among campus shooters, and gun ownership policies and their impact on safety. The letter concludes: "Political disagreements have stifled forward movement on issues related to gun violence in U.S. higher education. Meanwhile, shootings continue to occur in college classrooms and other campus spaces. Providing resources to expand what the field knows could yield an evidence-based set of policies and practices that make campuses safer and better positioned to support victims of shooting tragedies."