The State Board of Higher Education has approved a proposal to allow University of Oregon Police Department (UOPD) to carry guns on campus, starting this fall.
Mike Gottfredson, the university president, said that armed officers are required on 295-acre campus to enhance the safety and security of students and employees and to fight an active shooter.
"This is an important next step that allows us to respond to more types of calls," UOPD spokesman Kelly McIver said.
Jim Francesconi, one of the board members voted against the plan.
"If such an incident happens on campus, it is going to be incredibly traumatic," said Francesconi, who is a former Portland city commissioner.
Sophomore Rudy Zarosinski, a university student opposed the approved proposal.
"I don't see any reason why we need firearms on campus," Zarosinski said.
Before the proposal was approved, on-duty police officers serving in UOPD were prohibited from carrying guns on the campus by state bureaucrats. Until now, the police used to carry batons and pepper sprays. They approached the city of Eugene police during emergencies.
According to a survey conducted by the National Association of College and University Business Officers in 2008, majority of the public four-year schools in the country have campus police - 88 percent had officers and 76 percent had armed officers.
"It's very standard for campuses of our size, we have close to 25,000 students, to have a police department," said Jamie Moffitt, UO vice president for finance and administration.
The state's other six public universities have not yet approached the board for creating an armed police force.