I am a former member of the Purdue RPC and received the following from another former member this afternoon:
Link to the FB post: http://bit.ly/2xeH5uY
I wanted to post this here in the hope that somebody in the Lafayette/West Lafayette area might be able to help find a place for these students to practice. If anyone is able and willing to help them out please get in touch with them through their Facebook page as I am no longer in contact with anybody in the club (and not on Facebook anymore).
Update 10/6/17: I got in touch with the president of the PRPC and she said she has been in contact with Applied Ballistics in Lafayette. Good on them for helping out! I asked if I can be of any help and at this point they'd just like to spread the word that this is happening.
Update 10/11/17: Great news! Saw this posted on page 4 by ol' poke but wanted to get this up on the front page to get some more exposure. This is from the club's Facebook page.
Hello to all of our followers, club members, and alumni. It is with great regret that I write this post. A little over 2 weeks ago, Purdue University chose to evict the Purdue Rifle and Pistol Club and the rifle and pistol teams from use of the Armory on campus. While they claim it is about lead contamination, we have heard opposing stories from Purdue facilities, REM, and others that points to the Club and teams being an unproven symptom where our expulsion won't fix the problem.
We have written a letter to President Daniels. In it, we explained our Club’s rich history, the success of the teams on the national stage over the last 8 years, and that taking away our facility will virtually end a 120-year old club sport. We don’t use the Armory for convenience nor do we use it because we can. We use the Armory because it is the only place we can practice our discipline and sport. We have asked the President to help us find options and to allow us to use the Armory until an option can be found.
To our current club members that missed the Club meeting on Sept 25: The Advisor, Coaches, and Club leadership are searching for options for us to be able to temporarily use other facilities or rent range time off campus. While this is in no way ideal, we plan on working out transportation, etc. Times for Club practice will also likely change but that depends on a group/facility that accepts us.
Rec Sports has currently stated they think we should be considering building our own building. We will explore this but only after we are sure of the University’s sincerity to allow us to continue to exist as a Club and teams. We have seen our banner removed from the gym in the Co-Rec, our account briefly frozen at SAO, and coaching contracts misplaced. We honored the University’s request to keep the lead issue quiet for a time however we were informed the memo for our expulsion in essence made it public.
We thank you all for your past and future support. We will fight to keep the oldest club sport running on Purdue’s campus. We know it is an uphill battle and can use all the support from within our organization and outside to assist us to continue our mission of teaching firearm safety and marksmanship.
Link to the FB post: http://bit.ly/2xeH5uY
I wanted to post this here in the hope that somebody in the Lafayette/West Lafayette area might be able to help find a place for these students to practice. If anyone is able and willing to help them out please get in touch with them through their Facebook page as I am no longer in contact with anybody in the club (and not on Facebook anymore).
Update 10/6/17: I got in touch with the president of the PRPC and she said she has been in contact with Applied Ballistics in Lafayette. Good on them for helping out! I asked if I can be of any help and at this point they'd just like to spread the word that this is happening.
Update 10/11/17: Great news! Saw this posted on page 4 by ol' poke but wanted to get this up on the front page to get some more exposure. This is from the club's Facebook page.
"It is with gratitude and joy that the club informs all alumni, members of
the club, and members of the community that the Rifle and Pistol Club will be
moving back into the Armory for its practices and competitions. The president of
the Club sent a letter to President Daniels requesting assistance and our
request was heard, and answered. We will be allowed continued use of the Armory,
granted that we continue our lead-containment procedures as a club. We want to
thank Purdue University’s leadership for this decision.
Thank you to all of our followers and alumni that have been so supportive
of our group. We greatly appreciate all the support and help we received to be
able to move back into our long standing home. With this however, we would in
the future like to be able to accommodate all the shooting needs of Purdue. We
hope to augment the Trap and Skeet’s facility, accommodate the various ROTC
shooting programs, and of course find a permanent and safe home to the Purdue
Rifle and Pistol Club. It has been suggested we make it easier to donate to the
club. The following link is set up to do exactly that. https://securelb.imodules.com/s/1461...pealcode=10091,
or it is possible to go to the Purdue Support a Club Page to Deposit Directly
into our Purdue account Purdue University
If neither of these options are feasible, please message us and we will try to
accommodate. Further, we have appointed an officer to be our communications
officer to try to engage our alumni and followers in a more active way and let
you all know what is happening with the organization. We hope you follow along
for this year’s Club and Team activities.
Thank you to all of our members for your patience and help through this.
When we met in September, we asked that everyone conduct themselves
professionally and take this opportunity to learn about adversity and overcoming
it, and we thank you all for doing so. We will resume Club activities on Monday
night, 10/16 in the Armory with a short meeting prior to making the line hot.
We look forward to seeing everyone Monday night!
Pistol Team travels on Friday to compete at Ohio State this weekend. Good
luck!! If you’re in Columbus on Saturday, stop by and say hello!"
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