Harvard Study Shows Half A Million College Students Own Guns

Jet, July 26, 1999

A study released by Harvard University says that nearly half a million of the nation's college students own guns, and those with alcohol problems are twice as likely as others to have them.

About 3.5 percent of college students surveyed said they have a gun at school, said Dr. Matthew Miller, a researcher at Harvard's Injury Research and Control Center. Some 14 million students attend two- and four-year colleges in the U.S., so that percentage would translate to roughly 450,000, he said.

The report, which appears in the July issue of The Journal of American College Health, is based on a sample of 15,000 students at 130 four-year colleges. It was based on a 1997 questionnaire filled out anonymously by students. The questionnaire primarily focused on alcohol use but also asked students if they had a working firearm at school.

Gun possession is significantly more likely among students who binge drink and drive, or who damage property afar drinking, the report said.

The study also found gun possession at college was more common among Whites than among minorities groups and more prevalent among students who belonged to fraternities or sororities.