The Board of Trustees for the Massachusetts College of Art and Design voted against a request from its campus police department to carry firearms on campus.
According to Breitbart.com, the body decided in an 8-2 vote that campus officers would remain unarmed, making it the only four-year state college in the country with unarmed police officers.
James Durkin—a legislative director from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) trade union—said that the decision to keep officers unarmed is unrealistically utopian, as it insulates the campus community from the "real world" while putting the lives of officers, staff, and students at risk.
The decision has "done a disservice, as it has presented a false sense of security," he said.
Brianna Florio—an alumni from the school—said that under existing conditions, unarmed campus police officers are "walking targets in uniform," according to reports.
