On Tuesday, the New York Times published a Room for Debate segment on whether or not guns should be permitted on college campuses. “Supporters say guns make campuses safer. Opponents question the effect guns have on public safety and freedom,” reads the accompanying blurb. These columnists tackled the question of whether or not licensed students and professors should be allowed to carry their guns on campus.

One of the contributors, Amanda Collins, argued that affiliates should be permitted to carry on campus, and poignantly recounted the story of her rape — and her feeling of overwhelming powerlessness. “Permit holders are not allowed to carry firearms on campus,” she explained, but “I feel certain that I would have been able to stop the attack.”