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In the wake of shooting rampages at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University that together left nearly 40 people dead, several colleges that previously relied on unarmed security staff—such as Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan—have taken steps to allow armed guards on campus. Many colleges already do.

But at schools affiliated with the historic peace churches—the Brethren, Mennonites and Quakers—the question of guns on campus has prompted deep levels of soul-searching on how to simultaneously embrace nonviolence and keep students and staff safe.