Quote Originally Posted by celisup78 View Post
So if it is not illegal to carry on a college campus but might be against "college rules" then what kind of legal trouble can you get into if, for some reason or another, your concealed weapon is found by someone - i.e. campus police? Can you get into legal trouble if you just leave the campus grounds peacefully? Who determines if your reason for carrying is a "lawful purpose" - you, the officer, a judge? What is considered a lawful purpose - is "self defense" a "lawful purpose?" What other possible reasons? At the moment and no time in the near future do I plan on carrying on campus. I work in a chem lab all day and I have more than enough "weapons" near me and at my disposal if need be.
I think you are confusing two points here. I will start with the first.

It is not illegial by the laws and statues of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to carry a firearm on their property. If you are stopped by campus police for doing so, what happens to you depends on your status. If you are not a student and just a member of the public visiting their campus, the only legal thing they can do is ask you to leave. If you refuse, you are then trespassing and can be arrested for such. So if at any time someone asks you to leave private property for carry a firearm (or any reason for that matter) do so immediately and peacefully or you are considered trespassing.

If you are a student and enrolled at the college or university of higher education and are stopped for carrying a firearm on their property, you cannot be arrested or fined by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for doing so. But you may face discipline and punishment by the school for doing so. If they have a rule against it, you could be put on academic probation, suspended, expelled, etc. They make the rules and they can do with you what they want.

All the above was for colleges and universities of higher education.

For schools in the K-12 level, Pennsylvania law takes over. There is a law on that no one can carry a weapon into a school, on school grounds, or on any form of transportation provided by the school. This includes knives, firearms, shotguns, rifles, etc. But it does offer a clause for "lawful supervised school activity or course or is possessed for other lawful purpose." It is this last part that is talked about a lot on this forum. Just what is a lawful purpose. If you are legally allowded to purchase, own, and carry a firearm in the state of Pennsylvania, and you are not committing any other crime with said firearm, carrying it for self defense would be a lawful purpose, since defending yourself from harm is considered lawful. Again, it is often debated on this forum and often not advised to carry into schools or on school property.

Edit: In my slow typing, PA Patriot beat me to it. But I think reading both replies will help your understanding of the law.