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Security concerns in one of the Western Sydney University (WSU) campuses have prompted a student president to call for students to be allowed guns on campus grounds.

In a recent Student Representative Council (SRC) meeting, SRC president Daniel Bonatti moved a motion that sought to support students’ right to carry weapons.

Mr Bonatti had pointed to the commonly occurring mass shootings in the US at schools and universities.

“Mass shootings in educational institutions and Universities in the USA is a daily occurrence,” he said, as reported by the student newspaper W’SUP.

“With SRC having collectives and equity groups the rooms provided for women, chaplain, praying rooms Christian and Muslim, queers and indigenous are the frontline of being targeted.

“Students need to have a right to keep and bear arms for self-defence … I, [Daniel Bonatti] move that: The Student Representative Council (SRC) of Western Sydney University in principle supports the right to keep and bear arms.”

The motion was unanimously voted down by the rest of the council, with the agreement that campuses and students are safer without guns.

SRC Vice President Bayan Sohailee told news.com.au that it was an inappropriate motion to be brought up in a student council meeting.

“We’re the SRC, not the state or federal government. We can’t really do anything about that. Completely away from the fact that it’s illegal, it was just inappropriate to bring up and an inappropriate measure for safety,” he said.

Despite this, Mr Sohailee acknowledged that Mr Bonatti’s heart was in the right place as the key reason behind the motion was security concerns at the university’s Bankstown campus.

“He was trying to bring some attention to the lack of security to the Bankstown welfare spaces as well as LGBT+ safe spaces. I personally disagree 100 per cent with the way he decided to go with it,” he said.

WSU students have reacted negatively, with many commenting that American ideology doesn’t belong in Australia.

“Bringing a gun to university for ‘self-defence’ is insane. We aren’t America,” one student had told W’SUP.

“There’s no legal right to gun ownership in our country for means of self-protection,” another student wrote on Instagram.

Former SRC member and student, Sarah Cupitt told news.com.au the student council should focus on student matters and not politics.

“While it’s vital for student representatives to engage with national or broader societal issues, the primary focus should indeed be a matter directly impacting students, staff and researchers,” she said.

“If you’re going to waste SSAF [student fees] funded meetings talking about broader issues, at least make sure they are relevant and align with the interests and objectives of the student body.”

A WSU spokesperson told news.com.au that they take student safety seriously and that no security concern had been raised.

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“Western Sydney University takes the safety of our students and staff seriously. All our campuses are patrolled by security around the clock, including our Bankstown City campus,” they said.

“The Student Representative Council has not raised any security concerns with the University about student safety at the Bankstown City campus. The University welcomes the opportunity to engage and address any concerns they may have.

“Prayer rooms, LGBTIQ+ spaces and other facilities ensure students from a range of backgrounds belong and are safe here at the University. Our western Sydney community is diverse, and the University takes great pride in reflecting and safeguarding that diversity.”

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