CEDAR FALLS - Presidents at all of Iowa's three state universities, inlcuding University of Northern Iowa President Benjamin Allen, have recommended that sworn and certified officers on their campuses should be authorized to carry firearms as standard equipment on duty.

The recommendations, which were turned into the Board of Regents office earlier this week, were made public today. According to the letter written by Allen, his recommendation does come with some stipulations.

Allen said UNI DPS officers should be required to requalify in the use of firearms at least twice a year and should continue with annual training on topics such as understanding and appreciating diversity issues, conflict resolution and community-oriented policing. Also, he has requeseted that the UNI DPS and UNI Public Safety Advisory Committee need to establish a more transparent external review process of all situations where a campus officer draws or fires a weapon.

"The goal of any recommendation, with respect to protocols concerning campus security, should be to increase the safety of the students, faculty, staff, parents and visitors. The input from students, and from parents, strongly suggests they prefer campus police officers be armed. They indicated that students and others on campus would perceive the campus to be safer if the police officers were armed. This general view was shared by all of the leadership groups contacted, except the Faculty Senate and the United Faculty Central Committee," Allen wrote.

Dave Zarifis, UNI's director of public safety, said he appreciates the support of the university presidents.

"This has been a long process and is an issue that takes a lot of thought and effort from the entire campus community," Zarifis said.

The Board of Regents is expected to make its decision on the issue next week in Council Bluffs.

Read more about this story in Thursday's Courier.

Contact Emily Christensen at (319) 291-1570 or emily.christensen@wcfcourier.com.