It could be cold, windy, or really hot out. Or she doesn’t want to walk a mile with all her school stuff, or she doesn’t have great mobility. Also there are plenty of 30+ people going to college
It could also just be made up, maybe stop looking to get outraged
A firearm, easily. I’ve fired both and bows require much more strength even if it’s a compound bow. On top of that aiming an arrow is much less intuitive than using even iron sights on a gun. Not to mention you can get rounds off much faster on a bolt action gun than a bow. Additionally I think you’re probably more likely to hurt yourself with a bow by smacking your arm than with a gun, assuming you get basic training for both