The Wichita State community is now bracing itself for the inevitable presence of guns on campus starting July 2017, when an exemption on the state’s law to allow concealed guns without a permit ends.

When this happens, the classroom dynamic will change drastically.

Already, the thought of a shooting on campus lingers in most students’ minds; it seems there’s new reports of a mass shooting about once a month. The Washington Post reported last October there were 294 mass shootings in 274 days.

Imagine that feeling exemplified  by guns in students’ pockets.

The argument that having guns on campus will prevent or protect students, faculty and staff from a mass shooter is fighting fire with fire. How can someone tell the difference between a good guy and a bad guy?

It also important to note that faculty and staff have voiced their opinions on the matter; a survey of  about 10,000 faculty and staff from all Kansas universities indicated that 70 percent of respondents preferred amending the state law so that guns are not allowed on campus.

If the majority of the state’s employees are opposed to guns on campus, they shouldn’t be ignored. They’re the ones leading classes and educating our students.

Some faculty have wondered how uncomfortable conversations will affect armed students.

“A lot of people feel imposed upon when their core beliefs and worldviews are questioned or challenged,” said Faculty Senate President Peer Moore-Jansen, who also teaches anthropology classe, in a Feb. 4 issue of The Sunflower.

We can only hope that professors in the state’s higher education system are not losing more ground in their classrooms.

Perhaps the problem lies with the state’s new gun laws, which allow people to lawfully carry concealed, loaded handguns without proper training or licensing.

If the state legislature plans to maintain its stance on guns, it should at least work to keep armed people from coming onto college campuses.