It was in this atmosphere that MSU police showed up to a political science class in Conrad Hall and escorted a student out after receiving a report that the student was in possession of a gun. As it turned out, the object in question was merely a cell phone in a holster. Despite this, the police did the right thing in the situation.

The danger inherent in the situation dictates that the police respond, even to the most uncertain of reports. However, the response must be measured. In this case, no text messages were sent to warn the student body and police didn’t move in with guns drawn, ready to face a threat.

Instead, they calmly and coolly assessed the situation and sorted out what the real details were. This prevented the campus from becoming chaotic over what turned out to be a non-threatening situation.

The response was the perfect balance of reasonable doubt and caution. If police had chosen to wait until class was over to talk to the student, there’s no telling what could have happened if it actually had been a gun. If they had gone in with guns blazing, it would have created a panic.

There are those who see this episode as a reason to completely overhaul the security on campus, either by loosening restrictions to allow any student to carry a gun for self-defense or crack down on security.

To allow anybody to possess a gun would simply create an atmosphere of fear. As it stands now, a student who sees a gun knows to call police. If carrying guns became the norm, the only time a person would know someone else means harm would be if and when shots broke out.

Increasing security wouldn’t help that much either. Fences and metal detectors might do a little more to ensure safety, but they would irrevocably change the atmosphere on campus. Gone would be the feeling that MSU is a place of learning and it would be replaced by a siege mentality.

Undoubtedly, the student who found himself accused of possessing a weapon was profoundly embarrassed. Who would want to suddenly have police show up and escort them out of a class — especially a class with several hundred people in it? We sympathize with him. The fact remains that if the only price to pay in a situation such as this is embarrassment, it’s a price we should be more than willing to pay.

This incident isn’t a time to criticize MSU’s response to a potential weapon. It’s a time to applaud the system. The steps and measures put into place by the university worked. Everything went according to a plan. It was a vindication of the preparation of the MSU police.

In coming years, MSU might find itself dealing with similar incidents. It’s simply the price we have to pay for being a large university in the 21st century.