The 2nd amendment comes to GW
Andrew Breza
11/5/07 | Campus
he Colonial Militia was finally approved several days ago, bringing to a close a student org review process that lasted from March to October. The review required constant negotiations between SAC, the Office of Risk Management, and General Counsel. What could cause such consternation in a process that traditionally takes at most 5 business days? The short answer is this:
guns .
The full story is a bit more complicated. I wish that I could take full credit for the Colonial Militia but both the name and the club itself were originally the brainchild of my friend Ken Stauff (CCAS '09). He first approached me with the concept in Fall of 2005 but did not formally begin the registration process. My interest in firearms started with one professor who helped me understand the vital role that they play in law enforcement and personal protection. He told me about the Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly, Virginia. I took their intensive four hour Introduction to Handgun class with some of my classmates toward the end of 2006. I discovered my interest in firearms at that point and contacted Ken about formalizing what was then called the GW Gunslingers.
The arduous road to approval provides a hopeful tale for students who find themselves in similar situations across the country. We finished the student org application process on March 22nd and waited… and waited. I contacted Tim Miller of SAC who has since had the unenviable task of serving as the liaison between GW and the Colonial Militia. The tragedy of the Virginia Tech shootings a few weeks after we applied undoubtedly delayed the review process. We made painfully little progress for several months. On August 20 I was given the first draft of safety regulations under which the club was to operate. I balked at some of the terms and awaited GW's response. On September 10th I was given a much better set of rules and I approved.
There are some lessons that I learned from this process. If you are attempting to found a controversial club on campus first learn every single regulation that your school has in place regarding students organizations. Follow every one precisely. After you have submitted your request make contact with the university and try to build a picture of what is happening on the inside. Learn what outside resources are available to help you and decide when it is worth utilizing them. At the peak of my frustration I contacted FIRE, NRA, and even GW-ACLU to learn what I could do. I realized that I had to wait for a definitive ruling before appealing. It is vital that you log every contact you have with the university in case you have to prove your case to someone in the future. By far the most frustrating aspect of the situation was the waiting game. Large institutions move at their own speed whether you like it or not, as our 200+ day review period proves. Miller's e-mail signature now makes more sense to me than ever before: "We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."
The Colonial Militia will be conducting a variety of events this year. We have been in talks with several student organizations to cosponsor events and we are always looking for more support inside GW. I have contacted several outside organizations about providing speakers for events, including the National Rifle Association, American Civil Rights Union, and American Conservative Union. We have two speakers tentatively booked and are busy confirming dates and working on new events. Join our Facebook group or check out gwshoots.com for membership information.
The Second Amendment has come to GW, and its home is the Colonial Militia.
guns .
The full story is a bit more complicated. I wish that I could take full credit for the Colonial Militia but both the name and the club itself were originally the brainchild of my friend Ken Stauff (CCAS '09). He first approached me with the concept in Fall of 2005 but did not formally begin the registration process. My interest in firearms started with one professor who helped me understand the vital role that they play in law enforcement and personal protection. He told me about the Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly, Virginia. I took their intensive four hour Introduction to Handgun class with some of my classmates toward the end of 2006. I discovered my interest in firearms at that point and contacted Ken about formalizing what was then called the GW Gunslingers.
The arduous road to approval provides a hopeful tale for students who find themselves in similar situations across the country. We finished the student org application process on March 22nd and waited… and waited. I contacted Tim Miller of SAC who has since had the unenviable task of serving as the liaison between GW and the Colonial Militia. The tragedy of the Virginia Tech shootings a few weeks after we applied undoubtedly delayed the review process. We made painfully little progress for several months. On August 20 I was given the first draft of safety regulations under which the club was to operate. I balked at some of the terms and awaited GW's response. On September 10th I was given a much better set of rules and I approved.
There are some lessons that I learned from this process. If you are attempting to found a controversial club on campus first learn every single regulation that your school has in place regarding students organizations. Follow every one precisely. After you have submitted your request make contact with the university and try to build a picture of what is happening on the inside. Learn what outside resources are available to help you and decide when it is worth utilizing them. At the peak of my frustration I contacted FIRE, NRA, and even GW-ACLU to learn what I could do. I realized that I had to wait for a definitive ruling before appealing. It is vital that you log every contact you have with the university in case you have to prove your case to someone in the future. By far the most frustrating aspect of the situation was the waiting game. Large institutions move at their own speed whether you like it or not, as our 200+ day review period proves. Miller's e-mail signature now makes more sense to me than ever before: "We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."
The Colonial Militia will be conducting a variety of events this year. We have been in talks with several student organizations to cosponsor events and we are always looking for more support inside GW. I have contacted several outside organizations about providing speakers for events, including the National Rifle Association, American Civil Rights Union, and American Conservative Union. We have two speakers tentatively booked and are busy confirming dates and working on new events. Join our Facebook group or check out gwshoots.com for membership information.
The Second Amendment has come to GW, and its home is the Colonial Militia.
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