By now, we know that schools are the kind of place that criminals often love. You have a lot of young people who aren’t particularly wary, in some cases a fair bit of substance abuse, and you have a place that the bad guys are going to love. That’s especially true in places where students aren’t allowed to carry firearms.

However, one would think that it would be something of a no-brainer that those who provide security would be armed, right? I mean, there have been enough mass shootings on college campuses through the years alone to warrant such a measure. Couple that with more pedestrian forms of crime and armed security should be obvious.

Well, apparently, some people are just now getting the memo.

The Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell (ENMU-R) community College board voted 5-0 Wednesday to allow some guards to be armed after increased training procedures and screening on Wednesday, according to US News and World Report, the Houston Chronicle, and the Roswell Daily Record. The vote was followed by three campus meetings in August and September attended by roughly 55 people, including 10 students.

Security officers who don’t wish to arm themselves with deadly weapons will be offered further training in how to use disabling but non-lethal devices such as pepper spray, batons, tasers and stun guns, said authorities.

The request was filed by Brad McFadin, the head of Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell security. McFadin told the board, “As you recall, part of enhancing student success is to enhance security. We’ve improved our lighting and our video surveillance to improve what we already have on campus. … Becoming armed is just another option and tool to that, to enhance our student success,” according to the Roswell Daily Record.

“We feel—I feel—this is a necessary thing with all the things that have been going on,” McFadin added, referring to multiple mass shootings which have taken place nationwide, as well as deadly campus shootings such as an April 30 shooting at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, which killed two and wounded four.

McFadin also explained that his team holds emergency drills for both students and staff as part of his team’s efforts to keep the campus safe. McFadin suggested that four to six guards might be armed in the future.

Now, keep in mind that many colleges have actual police departments, including some two-year colleges throughout the nation. The community college here in my town had one, for example, prior to the school being merged with the local university. Armed security on college campuses isn’t unusual. It’s the norm.

I get that not everyone is comfortable with campus carry, the idea that some students may be armed. Nevermind the number of those that may be combat veterans who are more than capable of taking down an armed attacker, some people just don’t see it as anything other than handing guns to kids.

Yet the people tasked with providing security should be able to…oh, I don’t know…provide actual security.

I’m glad to know this school has rectified this horrible mistake. I hope all the security guards do opt to go armed since it will be the best way for them to carry out their duties.

Now I just want to know how many other schools have their head in the sand on stuff like this.

Then again, I might be happier not knowing.