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Open carrying on a college campus

alexkaminski888

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
19
Location
Milwaukee, WI
Hi, my name is Alex. I'm 18 years old and in 3 weeks I will be attending UW Stevens Point to pursue a career in law enforcement, specifically to be game warden for the WI DNR. I will be freshman I will be living on campus in a dorm. I've been giving a lot of thought lately about purchasing a handgun, from a private sale of course, and bringing it with me to college. Legal firearm storage will not be an issue as I am also bringing up my 12 gauge and my a .22 so I will have my own locker at the on campus armory to store it.

My questions are mainly about the transportation of the gun. I know that guns are not allowed in the any buildings other than the armory where they are stored. Can I carry a loaded handgun outside on the sidewalks on campus? I don't see why not, there are no sign stating the prohibition of weapons. The reason I want to carry a gun is for defense. I'll be spending a lot of time off campus fishing on a nearby river and I won't have a car so I'll either be biking or walking. I know that college campus areas are common target for robberies so I think it would good if I played it safe and carried.

What do you guys think? Would it make sense to pick up a handgun and carry it where I legally can? My thoughts are that I might as well. Chances are I'll never need to draw it from the holster but you never know. I want to make sure all laws are being followed and that I am doing it properly and legally.

Thanks in advance,

Alex Kaminski
 

Wstar425

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
570
Location
Tomahawk and Abbotsford, Wi.
Welcome to the board and the world of open carry.

I've read just now on two different UWSP sites that they are banned from all UW buildings as well as banned from all University property. I have no idea which one is correct, if either. Also saw as you stated that they must be kept in the armory. I would think that you would be fine on the public sidewalk, but I don't know about a sidewalk that is completely surrounded by school property, that might be a school sidewalk. There have been a few full blown gun shutdowns on campus, along with some false alarms. Pretty much a smaller version of Madison when it comes to firearms?

I also saw a link about conceal carry classes on campus, that might be a good resource for questions like these. I would not trust the campus police on this, I suspect they will just tell you no, no, no, whether true or not.

My son lives in Plover and works at Best Buy. He open carries when not at work. I would not be afraid to OC in Stevens Point, although the UW for sure does add an extra wrinkle to the picture. Son goes to the range in Wautoma with friends fairly regular, they would probably not mind meeting you if you were looking to meet some people.

Friend of mine just retired from the DNR at Hancock Lake? in Boulder Jct. He said the DNR in Madison is some of the most anti-gun people in the state, which kinda threw me for a surprise.
 

Firearms Iinstuctor

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
3,428
Location
northern wis
Welcome to the board.

Having been a LEO for over 30 years and having seen a lot of I want a be a LEO's get themselves into trouble and ruin their potential careers.

By trying to act like one before they get hire.

I fully aware and support the right to bear arms.

But the reality is if you develop the reputation of being a hot dog your career is out the window.

Or even worse get arrested for something. Like under age drinking, drunk driving. DC or many things young uninformed collage students do.

Get good grades stay, work hard, out of trouble, keep a low profile.

Becoming a Wis DNR warden is hard every body wants to be one at Point.

By all means buy own and carry when approximate but be real careful.
 
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Wstar425

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
570
Location
Tomahawk and Abbotsford, Wi.
Doesn't surprise me.


I had the name wrong, it is Escanaba Lake. It's a DNR Research facility, SE of Boulder Jct. Lake has no limit, season, or size requirement, you just have to stop at the ranger station and let them see and count your fish. He was kind of the gopher, lawn mower, do whatever the techs didn't want to do. Real outdoors guy, but no college so you can probably imagine how that went. I think he said he cleaned the fish as well if it was slow. My kind of lake!!!!!

He had riding in a semi to California and back on his bucket list, so he rode with me one trip. Came back on CA 20 from Yuba City to the top of Donner with a 80,000# load of cantaloupe. Nice scenery, but I wouldn't need to do it again. Missed Sacremento at rush hour, so probably worth it.

Guy had more and better horror stories about the DNR than I could ever make up about the trucking industry! DNR main office in Madison is no gun posted, which I can believe, but seems kinda unbelievable. I don't believe the Ranger Station in Rhinelander is, at least I was in there a few years ago OC and no one said anything.
 
Last edited:

alexkaminski888

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
19
Location
Milwaukee, WI
Or even worse get arrested for something. Like under age drinking, drunk driving. DC or many things young uninformed collage students do.

Get good grades stay, work hard, out of trouble, keep a low profile.

Becoming a Wis DNR warden is hard every body wants to be one at Point.

By all means buy own and carry when approximate but be real careful.


Thank you for your advice sir. Yeah I know it is a very hard job to get but worst case scenario I go work for a different state. As for staying out of trouble, I don't have a single violation under my belt. Not even a speeding ticket. I stay out of trouble.
 

alexkaminski888

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
19
Location
Milwaukee, WI
Welcome to the board and the world of open carry.

I've read just now on two different UWSP sites that they are banned from all UW buildings as well as banned from all University property. I have no idea which one is correct, if either. Also saw as you stated that they must be kept in the armory. I would think that you would be fine on the public sidewalk, but I don't know about a sidewalk that is completely surrounded by school property, that might be a school sidewalk. There have been a few full blown gun shutdowns on campus, along with some false alarms. Pretty much a smaller version of Madison when it comes to firearms?

I also saw a link about conceal carry classes on campus, that might be a good resource for questions like these. I would not trust the campus police on this, I suspect they will just tell you no, no, no, whether true or not.

My son lives in Plover and works at Best Buy. He open carries when not at work. I would not be afraid to OC in Stevens Point, although the UW for sure does add an extra wrinkle to the picture. Son goes to the range in Wautoma with friends fairly regular, they would probably not mind meeting you if you were looking to meet some people.

Friend of mine just retired from the DNR at Hancock Lake? in Boulder Jct. He said the DNR in Madison is some of the most anti-gun people in the state, which kinda threw me for a surprise.

I appreciate your response, I agree that campus police aren't the best people to ask for firearm laws. I'll definitely do my research and make sure what I do is 100% legal.
 

bnhcomputing

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2007
Messages
1,709
Location
Wisconsin, USA
I recommend against carrying on Campus as a student.

Alex:

I would be cautious of carrying on campus as a student as they have something called "Nonacademic Misconduct."

I'm not a lawyer, don't play one on TV, and usually encourage everybody to OC whenever/wherever possible BUT, you don't want to FUBAR your education on day one. Take "Firearms Instructor's" advice and keep a low profile, especially living on campus.

As to all the other more interesting information on this thread:

The Wisconsin Administrative Code at UWS 18.10(3) prohibits a person from carrying, possessing, or using any dangerous weapon on university lands or in university buildings or facilities, unless it is for law enforcement purposes or the person receives written approval of the chief administrative officer. Chapter 18 permits police to confiscate and remove dangerous weapons from university lands. To the extent Chapter 18 is consistent with Wisconsin Act 35, the University of Wisconsin System will continue to follow and enforce Chapter 18.
https://www.wisconsin.edu/general-counsel/legal-topics/concealed-carry/

It will take a court challenge to this "Administrative Code" and I'm not sure you want to be the test case.

Just my $0.02
 

alexkaminski888

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
19
Location
Milwaukee, WI
Alex:

I would be cautious of carrying on campus as a student as they have something called "Nonacademic Misconduct."

I'm not a lawyer, don't play one on TV, and usually encourage everybody to OC whenever/wherever possible BUT, you don't want to FUBAR your education on day one. Take "Firearms Instructor's" advice and keep a low profile, especially living on campus.

As to all the other more interesting information on this thread:

https://www.wisconsin.edu/general-counsel/legal-topics/concealed-carry/

It will take a court challenge to this "Administrative Code" and I'm not sure you want to be the test case.

Just my $0.02


You have a great point. I know that other students check out their gun from the armory where they go hunting and they return the gun at the end of the day when they're done. I think I'll be cautious and only carry when I'm a good distance off of campus, like when I'm night fishing on the river. I also plan on leaving the campus as soon as I check out my handgun. I would go from the armory straight to my off campus destination. I appreciate all the suggestions and feedback I'm getting. This is useful forum.
 

Wstar425

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
570
Location
Tomahawk and Abbotsford, Wi.
I'm asking as I don't know the answers, and not that familiar with UWSP.

How would you get your firearms to the campus armory if it was ON Campus, AND firearms are not allowed on ALL of campus?

Maybe it is off campus? Or, is it the one exception?

Who owns the sidewalks on campus? I'm guessing that some of them are in fact owned by the UW. I agree that carrying on campus while pursuing a LE degree is a pretty iffy situation, and should be investigated pretty thoroughly, and then some before it is attempted.

You would think the people in charge of the armory (campus Police?) should be able to at least tell you how to get into and out of the armory with firearms legally?
 

alexkaminski888

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
19
Location
Milwaukee, WI
I'm asking as I don't know the answers, and not that familiar with UWSP.

How would you get your firearms to the campus armory if it was ON Campus, AND firearms are not allowed on ALL of campus?

Maybe it is off campus? Or, is it the one exception?

Who owns the sidewalks on campus? I'm guessing that some of them are in fact owned by the UW. I agree that carrying on campus while pursuing a LE degree is a pretty iffy situation, and should be investigated pretty thoroughly, and then some before it is attempted.

You would think the people in charge of the armory (campus Police?) should be able to at least tell you how to get into and out of the armory with firearms legally?

That is a great question. All I could find online is this

"Possession of any type of guns or rifles on University property is not permitted. If you do have a weapon for hunting and live in a residential hall, it must be stored at the UWSP Armory. The armory is located at the Protective Services Office, George Stien Building, 346-3456."

It seems to me that I would be best off leaving defense guns at home and just carry a blade of some sort. The last thing I want to do is to ruin my career before it even starts. I really appreciate the help from all of you. This forum is great and I'm learning a lot.
 

Wstar425

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
570
Location
Tomahawk and Abbotsford, Wi.
That is a great question. All I could find online is this

"Possession of any type of guns or rifles on University property is not permitted. If you do have a weapon for hunting and live in a residential hall, it must be stored at the UWSP Armory. The armory is located at the Protective Services Office, George Stien Building, 346-3456."

It seems to me that I would be best off leaving defense guns at home and just carry a blade of some sort. The last thing I want to do is to ruin my career before it even starts. I really appreciate the help from all of you. This forum is great and I'm learning a lot.

Right, so the Protective Services Office MUST be off of University property, otherwise how would you get your firearm to it??!!??

I saw that the other day but the "weapon for hunting" did not jump out at me. A weapon for personal safety isn't going to be of much help locked up at Armory half a mile away. How about a weapon for target shooting, or heaven forbid, personal safety? Funny they made a special mention of a hunting firearm. There is so much wrong with this whole thing, hard to know where to start.

I'm thinking that there are plenty of sidewalks on University property that ARE University property. I wouldn't want to assume that all sidewalks are public space, if I wanted a job with the DNR. I bet they have a knife policy as well tho.
 

protias

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
7,308
Location
SE, WI
I had the name wrong, it is Escanaba Lake. It's a DNR Research facility, SE of Boulder Jct. Lake has no limit, season, or size requirement, you just have to stop at the ranger station and let them see and count your fish. He was kind of the gopher, lawn mower, do whatever the techs didn't want to do. Real outdoors guy, but no college so you can probably imagine how that went. I think he said he cleaned the fish as well if it was slow. My kind of lake!!!!!

He had riding in a semi to California and back on his bucket list, so he rode with me one trip. Came back on CA 20 from Yuba City to the top of Donner with a 80,000# load of cantaloupe. Nice scenery, but I wouldn't need to do it again. Missed Sacremento at rush hour, so probably worth it.

Guy had more and better horror stories about the DNR than I could ever make up about the trucking industry! DNR main office in Madison is no gun posted, which I can believe, but seems kinda unbelievable. I don't believe the Ranger Station in Rhinelander is, at least I was in there a few years ago OC and no one said anything.

So not even the DNR wardens can carry in there? :p
 

Wstar425

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2014
Messages
570
Location
Tomahawk and Abbotsford, Wi.
So not even the DNR wardens can carry in there? :p

I'm not positive about DNR Wardens at the main Madison office. It wouldn't shock me if they couldn't tho.


I know he said he wanted to carry at the DNR Escanaba Lake Research Station and he couldn't get permission to do that. He was like the lowest employee at the place, no college, just an outdoor guy working all the jobs the college boys were too good for. Oops!! Sorry!! Haha

I read something once, and thought it interesting: Who do you think cares more about the environment? A blogger in San Francisco, or some guy sitting in a tree in North Carolina?

Anyway, he met me at my house to leave for the trip, I was outside with the dog OC and he said we're gonna get along fine! That truck gets smaller every day with two guys in it! We got along great, but I wouldn't have wanted to do another trip.
 

Franky

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2013
Messages
271
Location
popple butte
I'm not positive about DNR Wardens at the main Madison office. It wouldn't shock me if they couldn't tho.


I know he said he wanted to carry at the DNR Escanaba Lake Research Station and he couldn't get permission to do that. He was like the lowest employee at the place, no college, just an outdoor guy working all the jobs the college boys were too good for. Oops!! Sorry!! Haha

I read something once, and thought it interesting: Who do you think cares more about the environment? A blogger in San Francisco, or some guy sitting in a tree in North Carolina?

Anyway, he met me at my house to leave for the trip, I was outside with the dog OC and he said we're gonna get along fine! That truck gets smaller every day with two guys in it! We got along great, but I wouldn't have wanted to do another trip.

Your first paragraph is a gimme. The rest of your post is just another chapter about your life as a truck driver and totally irrevelant to the poster's topic. A plethora of your posts contain a small amount of on topic material and rest is just a long winded off topic adventure story.
 

Have Gun - Will Carry

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2010
Messages
290
Location
Kenosha County, Wisconsin
Your first paragraph is a gimme. The rest of your post is just another chapter about your life as a truck driver and totally irrevelant to the poster's topic. A plethora of your posts contain a small amount of on topic material and rest is just a long winded off topic adventure story.

Well, if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black! Tell me, "Franky", exactly what do your posts contribute to this forum? Bashing Wisconsin Carry Inc. (a violation of this site's rules, by the way), sneering over the misfortune of others, and constantly lying about your attendance at Walworth County's monthly OC meet & greet? (you know, the one you "confirm" every month, but no one has ever seen you at!)

That's not much of a contribution by anyone's standards. Something tells me the only one on OCDO who sees any value in your posts is... you. And Nightmare. And Doug Huffman. But, I repeat myself...
 

Franky

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2013
Messages
271
Location
popple butte
Well, if that ain't the pot calling the kettle black! Tell me, "Franky", exactly what do your posts contribute to this forum? Bashing Wisconsin Carry Inc. (a violation of this site's rules, by the way), sneering over the misfortune of others, and constantly lying about your attendance at Walworth County's monthly OC meet & greet? (you know, the one you "confirm" every month, but no one has ever seen you at!)

That's not much of a contribution by anyone's standards. Something tells me the only one on OCDO who sees any value in your posts is... you. And Nightmare. And Doug Huffman. But, I repeat myself...

Whoa now, I am a wc inc founder's club member and as a matter of fact one of the first 25. I dont see you on that list. LOL for infinity.
 
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