Most Arkansas colleges and universities have decided to go against the tide by not allowing faculty and staff members to bear firearms on campus.

Northwest Arkansas is the latest institution to join the group of colleges which has decided to move out of state law, which allows faculty and staff to carry handguns to campus as long as they have concealed carry permits. Act 226 was signed into law this year, March.

The Community College's board of trustees voted 5-1 to keep guns off campus after reviewing student and faculty surveys.

"When the student government looked at the issue, deciding whether or not they were going to sign the resolution...they voted unanimously in favor of opting out of Act 226," Steven Hinds, director of public relations for the college, said.

Apart from Northwest Arkansas, East Arkansas Community College, University of Central Arkansas, Harding, Hendrix College and Henderson State University have also opted to stay out of the state law.

The East Arkansas' board has planned to recruit additional armed security officers on campus as a substitute.

St. Francis County Sheriff Bobby May, one of the members of East Arkansas' board of trustees, was also not in favor of the law. He said that by introducing a sheriff's substation, officials can work toward minimizing crimes on campus.

"I think this is a bad bill. I'm going to be plain-spoken about it," May said. "Teachers, faculty, staff, are not police officers. Police officers go through weeks, months of training in shoot-or-don't-shoot situations. We consider ourselves professionals. I think it's a bad idea."

However, Henderson State University and the University of Arkansas are scheduled to vote on the Act at its next board of trustees meeting. Meanwhile, the state's two largest university systems - University of Arkansas and Arkansas State University - will also review the law Thursday.

The President of the Arkansas Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators said that although law makers have approved the law, the final decision lies with the individual schools.

However, the campus police departments affiliated with the Association recommends colleges and universities to ban weapons across its campus and hopes that more and more institutions introduce similar resolutions in order to be freed from Act 226.