But Villanova, like nearly all colleges and universities nationwide, bans firearms on campus. A new group, called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC), would like to change that, arguing that concealed-carry permit holders should be able to bring weapons to school to defend themselves and their classmates against a deranged killer.
The group, which sprang up after the Virginia Tech massacre, claims to have 16,000 members at 500 campuses nationwide, including Pennsylvania State and West Chester Universities, with every incident drawing in more frightened students, faculty and parents. With a click of a Facebook account, anyone can sign up.
"We got more than 1,000 new members after the [NIU] shooting," said Stephen Feltoon, a national director of SCCC and a recent Miami University graduate.
In April, supporters plan to wear empty holsters to class during a day of protest.
Clark said the Illinois shooting - in which a former student killed six and wounded 15 in a classroom on Feb. 14 - made him realize that the safety measures instituted by schools after the Virgina Tech massacre weren't working.
"There's only so much they can do," said Clark, who joined SCCC after that incident. "If I'm licensed to carry a gun in this state, why can't I carry it here?"
Guns laws vary greatly from state to state, with only one state, Utah, permitting concealed-carry on campus. New Jersey forbids guns at all schools while Pennsylvania's ban is limited to elementary and secondary schools.
Restricting firearms at colleges doesn't make them safer, advocates say. In fact, they add, criminals will likely target schools because they know they are gun-free zones.
"It's the same reason we wear seat belts - we just don't know when something is going to happen," said Ken Stanton, a 30-year-old graduate student at Virginia Tech, where a gunman slaughtered 33 people in April 2007.
Colleges don't see it that way.
