| On April 16, 2007, a student at Virginia Tech University, known to be mentally ill, went on a rampage shooting 49 people on campus before taking his own life. When it was over, 32 people were dead, and the concept of a safe campus was forever changed. The incident revealed the inherent conflicts between campus safety concerns and students' civil rights, an issue campus across the nation have grappled with over the past 10 years. Public colleges, which are legally viewed as quasi-governmental entities, must satisfy the civil rights compliance requirements that apply to governmental entities. Community colleges have the additional challenge of maintaining a reasonably safe campus while preserving the mission of "open access." Efforts to balance campus safety concerns with students' civil rights have been unsuccessful and have caused confusion, chaos, and litigation.;This dissertation is a critical interpretive synthesis of scholarly, legal, and grey literature research that addresses the tension between campus safety concerns and students' civil rights. Scholarly resources included peer-reviewed journals. Legal resources included the constitution, federal statutes, federal and state court opinions, federal agency documents, federal reports, and articles from recognized and reliable authors and/or publications. Grey literature included articles from recognized and respected publications that covered current events. Experts provided valuable feedback and guidance on the topic, research and resources.;The dissertation examines civil rights selected based on their tension with campus safety concerns. The civil rights addressed are due process, free speech, gun rights, and privacy. The findings of this dissertation provide guidance on factors to consider when evaluating how best to balance campus safety concerns with students' civil rights. |
