Board of Regents committee to have information session, including public comment, on campus safety and weapons policy

The CU Board of Regents’ University Affairs Committee will have an informational session on campus safety and the university’s weapons policy, which will include the opportunity for public comment, when it meets April 18.

Campus safety is a critical issue for the Board of Regents and the entire university community, said Board of Regents Chair Lesley Smith. At the board’s regular meeting on Feb. 9, several CU students encouraged the board to reverse the university’s weapons policy, articulated in Regent Policy 14.I, which allows those with a state concealed carry permit to possess handguns on campuses (with the exception of most residence halls and ticketed cultural and athletic events). One student spoke in favor of the current policy. Colorado’s concealed carry law was extended to CU’s campuses after the state Supreme Court ruled against CU in 2012 in an appeal of a lawsuit won by Students for Concealed Carry, which in earlier legal actions argued that CU’s weapons policy violated Colorado’s Concealed Carry Act. In 2022, the Colorado legislature passed a bill that returned the authority to set weapons policies to university governing boards.

At the board’s Feb. 9 meeting, Smith referred the issue to the University Affairs Committee for an informational session regarding campus safety, including the weapons policy. The meeting, from 1-3 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, will be conducted via Zoom webinar and also livestreamed; a complete agenda will be posted on BoardDocs by April 14. The meeting will have two parts: in the first, the committee will hear proposals for four new degrees, which the committee could send to the full board for consideration at its regular April 27-28 meeting.

The second part, beginning at approximately 1:40 p.m., will be a discussion on campus safety, including the weapons policy.

• No resolutions will be proposed and no votes will be taken at the meeting. The purpose of the session is to give the campuses and their safety professionals the opportunity to provide information to the committee.
• The committee chair will acknowledge materials submitted by the public and contained in BoardDocs. (procedures below)
• Campus safety representatives will provide information regarding campus safety.
• Regent committee members and other regents in attendance can ask additional questions of the campus safety representatives.
• The committee chair will welcome public comment at the end of the committee meeting. (procedures below)

Procedures

Submitting materials for BoardDocs

Documents, including resolutions, reports and materials relevant to regent discussion of the issue before the committee may be emailed to CUBoardofRegents@cu.edu.

• Those submitting materials should note their name and the authors of the materials.
• Anonymous materials will not be posted.
• Materials submitted will be posted publicly in BoardDocs.
• Submitted materials will remain part of the permanent record available to the board.
• Please indicate “University Affairs Committee” in your email subject to help us identify the email.

Public Comment

The University Affairs Committee will include live public comment at its April 18 meeting. Public comment will be limited to 2 minutes per speaker.

Please let the Board of Regents Office know by noon April 17 if you would like to sign up by following the procedures listed below. This is not a guarantee of participation.

• Those wishing to sign up for live public comment should send an email to CUBoardofRegents@cu.edu. Please write “live public comment” in the subject line to help identify your email. Include the following information in your email:
  • Your name;
  • Organization represented or description of who you are (e.g., UCCS student government)
  • Position you wish to advocate (e.g., for or against the existing weapons policy)
• A meeting administrator will contact you with more information.
• During the meeting, a meeting administrator will admit you to the panel when it is your turn to speak.

If time constraints do not allow all who signed up for public comment to speak, or if you do not wish to speak at the meeting, you may submit a written statement to the board via email at CUBoardofRegents@cu.edu. Please indicate your email is for “public comment.” Submitted materials will remain part of the permanent record available to the board. Detailed reports and resolutions will be included in BoardDocs and should not be read during public comment.