Labette Community College seeks to enhance the safety of its employees and students by maintaining all of its properties and activities as “Weapon-Free Zones.” Any employee, student or third party determined to be in possession of a weapon in any College building or College vehicle, on College grounds, or at any College sponsored activity or event may be subject to legal action and/or the College’s disciplinary process.
Sanctions up to and including, immediate suspension without pay and subsequent termination upon investigation of the facts of the incident may be imposed on employees. Sanctions for students up to and including immediate eviction from class, suspension or expulsion from school may also be imposed. Third parties may be banned from College events and property. Violation of this policy may subject any party in violation to civil or criminal prosecution. Sanctions imposed on students and employees under this policy by the College will be subject to any due process rights accorded the student or employee by state law, College policy, or collective bargaining agreement.
For purposes of this policy, the term weapon shall include any object that can reasonably be considered as a weapon or a facsimile of a weapon. Many objects are designed as and are commonly understood to be weapons. Examples include firearms; martial arts weapons; knives; metal knuckles; spring or CO2 powered projectile guns; bludgeons or clubs of various types; tear gas; and grenades or other explosive/incendiary devices. The College bans all such previously mentioned weapon types and any facsimile of these weapon types under this policy.
Additionally, the College recognizes that many common objects and tools are designed for uses other than as a weapon but may be used or may be modified for use as a weapon. In considering whether a particular common object or tool shall be considered to be a weapon under this policy, College officials will consider the time, place, and other circumstances surrounding the possession of the common object including the explanation for its possession and whether the object has been modified or otherwise altered to make a more effective weapon in making their determination.
The provisions of the Weapons Policy do not apply to the possession of weapons in College buildings, on College grounds, or at any College sponsored activity if the possession of weapons is:
1. Connected with a weapons safety course or a weapons education course approved and authorized by the College, or
2. Authorized in writing by the President, or
3. The weapon is in the possession of a full-time law enforcement officer, displaying a badge, required to carry a weapon as a condition of his employment, or a uniformed, part-time law enforcement officer on active duty conducting official business. (This does not preclude our procedure whereby the officer is to be escorted by a college official if she/he is to approach a student on campus—especially in the classroom.)