It’s always a sad situation when college students have their lives threatened and taken in the midst of them enjoying a night at the bars. In Thousand Oaks, California, this occurred at a local spot students love to visit, Borderline Bar and Grill, at 11:20 p.m. the night of Nov. 9 when a gunman opened fire on 200 individuals many of which were local college students. Twelve of the 200 individuals were killed including the gunman and an officer located outside the bar before the mass incident occurred.
The Cowboy Saloon here in Laramie is also a hot spot for students to relax and have a good time, especially Wednesday nights when anyone 18 years and up is allowed entrance unlike the usual 21 and up bars.
Bailey Vogler, junior at UW, attends the Cowboy one to two times a month but plans to attend more often in the future because of her memorable experiences there in the past. Due to the Cowboy’s large open floor concept, Vogler loves to swing dance with the majority of the college students who turn up. There is also a bar set up, some tables and a pool table on one side of the building for those who may not be as coordinated on the dance floor.
“I would probably get behind the bar or somewhere to hide or I might try to sneak out,” explained Vogler when asked what she would do in a situation like Thousand Oaks. “I do have a concealed carry permit and have been through training for those types of situations, but taking out another gun in that type of problem would be my last resort. Security would step in and take care of the situation I’m sure.”
Vogler goes on to explain that she feels very safe in the Cowboy every time she has attended due to the great security located throughout the bar and outside the building. There are always one to two big guys checking IDs and marking people with bands, another individual at the entryway between the bar and dance area, and another man who walks about inspecting the entire area. All of these men are “big capable guys” according to Vogler.
Emiliano Vega, a sophomore at UW, shares a similar view to Vogler about the Cowboy’s security. However, Vega believes that individuals in the saloon who may have a conceal carry could help the situation in order to protect others.
“Taking into consideration that there are only a couple of nights a week that they let minors in to dance,” stated Vega, “the times I have been there, they have a decent amount of security. You have to present a drivers license showing that you are eighteen to enter, but other than that there isn’t much. However, when you take into consideration that a person has the ability to conceal carry, personal security increases. I think that there are people in this town who would be willing to take matters into their own hands and do what would be necessary to ensure other people’s safety.”
