St. Olaf allegations prompt calls for change, hope and solutions

*Editor’s Note: The following Our View contains descriptions related to school shootings and gun violence. The purpose any discussion or description of these events is to raise awareness and promote understanding of the impacts of gun violence on individuals, families and communities. Please proceed with caution and seek support from CSB+SJU counseling services if you feel overwhelmed by this content.*

Tomorrow, Waylon Kurts, a student at St. Olaf College, will appear in Rice County District Court facing charges of conspiracy to commit second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit threats of violence and terrorist threats in connection to the discovery of multiple items which school officials found threatening in his dorm room and car two weeks ago.

St. Olaf officials became suspicious of Kurts after a custodian saw two empty packages belonging to Kurts for high-capacity magazines in a garbage can outside some dorm rooms. After searching his room and car, police officers confiscated a number of ammunition magazines, knives, a tactical vest, firearm earmuffs, six propane canisters, fireworks, lighter fluid, a batter with wires, a lock pick set and multiple notebooks. Written in the notebooks was a plot to steal ammunition from a retailer, police radio frequencies and per the charges, a “hand-drawn map of Skoglund-Tostrud, the recreational facility on campus. The map includes arrows delineating a path of travel, apparently an exit path.”

Also in the charges, the Rice County Attorney’s Office alleges that he “had been planning a mass casualty event” and that “the targeted building was Skoglund-Tostrud (the recreational facility on campus) and that both firearms and explosives would be used in an attack.” For many, this situation strikes incredibly close to home—not only because of the proximity of CSB+SJU to St. Olaf, but because the situation illustrates that the potential for tragedy can happen anywhere.

Earlier this year, a gunman opened fire at Michigan State University on Feb. 13, killing three people and injuring five others before taking his own life. In November 2022, three members of the University of Virginia football team were shot and killed on campus and four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death in their off-campus residence.

This Editorial Board invokes these examples not to frighten readers, but to bring attention to the violence that is happening on college campuses around the country and the potential policy changes that could impede the ability for individuals to access weapons, specifically guns. Minnesota currently does not have a law requiring background checks on all gun purchases, even though, according to a recent Gallop poll, 92% of Americans are in favor of requiring them. Even more convincing, 83% of gun owners support legislation that expands background checks for sales of all firearms.

This summer’s Bipartisan Safe Communities Act was the first successful attempt making inroads on federal gun legislation since the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. The federal policy implements several changes to the mental health system, school safety programs and gun safety laws like a partial closure of the boyfriend loophole. Beyond Washington, the Minnesota state House, Senate and Governor’s Office all offer an opportunity to enact legislation improving community safety. What’s more is the aforementioned: an expansion of common-sense gun legislation like background checks is broadly supported. Beyond this, raising the age to buy weapons, investing in community violence intervention programs or restricting high-capacity magazines ought to be considered.

Understanding that there are a number of hunters and gun owners (or people who have grown up around guns) at CSB and SJU, we want to be clear: this Our View doesn’t seek to repeal the Second Amendment. Smart gun owners should be able to enjoy responsible hunting and non-gun owners should be able to enjoy safety.

In closing, Kurts’s appearance in Rice County District Court is a reminder of how Minnesotans and college students are not immune to gun violence. Though travelling to Parkland, Sandy Hook or Columbine requires crossing state lines, St. Olaf is just over a hundred miles away, and Rocori high school, where there was a shooting that killed two people in 2003, is even closer. The list goes on. Regardless of where you are, if you see something, say something. Violence at St. Olaf was likely prevented by the courage of a janitor to make a report, and there’s no saying the same threats can’t happen elsewhere.

When many of our parents were born, their generation faced one of our nation’s most challenging issues in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We have seen challenges before and will see them again. However, through the maintenance of hope, understanding and persistent pressure to demand change, we can be the generation to end gun violence.