A Munich student goes to a lecture with a blank pistol – quite legally. That should not be allowed, student representatives demand. First universities react.
Munich (dpa / lby) – After a police operation because of a student with a blank gun in the lecture hall at a Munich university, the Technical University (TUM) tightened its house rules. A spokesman for the university announced that the “carrying of weapons and dangerous and weapon-like objects” is now generally prohibited there. Exceptions to this include security personnel and the police. “Apart from very few exceptions, such as security guards, we believe that nobody should be out and about with weapons,” said the TUM spokesman.
According to a spokeswoman, the Kempten University of Applied Sciences is also planning to adjust its regulations. Student representatives from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), the Munich University of Applied Sciences (HM) and the TUM had called for such tightening after an 18-year-old brought a pistol into a lecture hall at the LMU at the beginning of November, triggering a police operation. The reason given by the student was that he had anxiety.
An LMU spokeswoman said that the university senate did not want to decide on a change in the house rules before all legal issues had been clarified. It is about, for example, the exact definition of prohibited weapons, potential exceptional cases and the possibility of practical controls.
According to the Munich University of Applied Sciences (HM), it is also checking whether its own house rules can be changed in this area. A spokeswoman said it was already forbidden to bring and show weapons at the University of Augsburg before the incident in Munich.
The chairwoman of the Bavarian University Conference, Sabine Doering-Manteuffel, pointed out possible disputes in connection with stricter house rules. “If there were a blanket ban, pepper spray in a student’s purse would also be banned.” When asked about carrying such weapons, she strives for a “discussion with all target groups”. At the same time, she emphasized: “Weapons create insecurity in a university.”