If you see anyone wearing a holster around campus this week, don’t be alarmed. As a part of a national movement, Penn State students who support carrying concealed weapons on campus will be wearing these empty holsters all week to protest the campus ban on concealed weapons.

The national organization, known as Students for Concealed Carry (SCC), consists of “more than 43,000 college students, professors, college employees, parents of college students, and concerned citizens who believe that holders of state-issued concealed handgun licenses should be allowed the same measure of personal protection on college campuses that current laws afford them virtually everywhere else” according to their website. The organization was formed after the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007.

Alex Dawes, leader of the SCC on campus, supports the movement because it’s “something that helps raise awareness. These colleges don’t allow students who are attending to protect themselves and these empty holsters are a sign that we’ve been stripped of our rights.”

He then went on to add, “It’s a little asinine that you can carry it almost everywhere else in the state except where we, as students, spend most of our time. It’s all about protecting ourselves because criminals aren’t going to listen to those rules [about gun control] regardless.”

Dawes did wear his empty holster on campus yesterday, but he mentioned that it hasn’t garnered too much attention because he only had two classes. “I’ve gotten some strange looks, but no one’s asked me about it yet. [Tuesday] will be better.”