By Gerard Valentino

Another wave of armed robberies put Columbus college students at risk yet again due to the archaic ban on legal concealed carry on campus. As a result, students are easy pickings for criminals looking for a sure thing.

In this case, one student from Capitol University in Bexley was robbed and two different students at Ohio State were targeted. One student was kidnapped from the OSU campus at gunpoint and taken to an ATM to get cash for his attackers. Luckily, none of the students were harmed. An employee at a UniPrint store on the OSU campus, however, wasn't so fortunate. Two armed suspects, both described as black males wearing ski masks, forcefully entered the store before it had opened (bypassing the "no-guns" signs prominently displayed on the front doors) and pistol-whipped the employee.

(See news coverage here and here and here.)

Once again, Ohio's ban on concealed carry on campus left several college students at the whim of armed thugs. To think armed robbers don't know that students are disarmed because of our current concealed carry law is laughable. Of course armed robbers know where to go in order to find unarmed victims.

By Matthew Prachar and Steve Loos

You may not be aware of the existence of the OSU Pistol Club, but it has been around since the 1960's. The Pistol Club exists to help promote the shooting sports to students and faculty on the campus of Ohio State.

The club provides marksmanship and safety training via NRA certified instructors, firearm rental, ammunition, targets, and safety equipment to all who come to shoot. If they choose to participate, attendees are giving assistance in qualifying in the Bullseye Pistol and Handgun Marksmanship qualification programs offered by the National Rifle Association.

The club utilizes a newly remodeled 20 position on-campus firing range that remains OSU's little secret. This often goes unnoticed by many students. However recent in-house promotion changes have increased the attendance greatly. In the Spring Quarter 2009 the club had over 100 individual shooters come to take part in the experience.