Bemidji State University Offers On-Campus Weapon Storage For Resident Students

Having an on-campus weapon storage facility may not be common at other institutions. But when you’re located in Minnesota’s northwoods, it’s fitting. Bemidji State University recently expanded its facilities for resident students to store their weapons.

“Many of our students participate in the outdoors activities that are in the area,” said BSU Housing & Residential Life Director Randy Ludeman. “We recognize that includes hunting and shooting sports. We wanted to accommodate coming to BSU, it’s about outdoors, wanted to accommodate students’ needs there.”

School policy prohibits weapons anywhere else on campus. The new facility is twice the size of the previous weapons storage. There are 126 lockers and 77 are currently in use.

“Students can store long guns, bows and arrows, fishing spears and any other type of knife or blade,” said Ludeman.

Student Garrett Ober stands at 6 feet 8 inches tall, but the lockers tower over even him.

“Gun-cleaning kit, gun, ammunition and a gun pouch that I have on with my waders,” said Ober.

Ober says he looks forward to duck hunting season and tells me he was just out there last week in the rain. “There’s got to be some people that go here and come up and hunt especially.”

He appreciates the convenience of the facility.

“Your stuff’s like room temperature, and you just grab it and go,” said Ober.

Students use the wild game cleaning room to process what they harvest. The freezers keep remains so they don’t cause problems with odors and cleanliness.

“Come in from hunting per se, go get your stuff, drop it off in here with your game and you go there with your stuff and not even like five minutes away from each other,” said Ober.

Safety is a priority. Students have 24-hour access to the room and the Public Safety Office monitors it.

“We have added the technology to the facilities to make sure that our students are safe,” said Ludeman. “Our students spend a lot of money on this sporting good equipment and we want to make sure that if we’re storing it that it’s safe.”

By the end of October, gun-cleaning stations will be installed.