On Sept. 4, news broke about another deadly school shooting, this time at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. This came less than a week after we completed intruder lockdown drills and had the all-too familiar discussion with our advisory teachers as to what we would do in the event of an intruder or active shooter in the building. This year, rooms are equipped with “go buckets” that contain first aid kits and tourniquets, among other things. For most of our parents, this was not part of their school experience, but, for us, it is just another Friday.
According to The Washington Post, there have been 417 school shootings since 1999. Additionally, 383,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine. School shootings are continuously affecting our ability to feel safe living our everyday lives. We hear of kids who have gone to their first day of school as four-year-olds, and never made it to their last first day of high school. Students now go to school fearful, confused, scared, and unwell, all while trying to secretly be happy and act like everything is fine. Deep down, students have the wandering thought in the back of their mind, about what COULD happen.
Some may say, “just live in the moment,” “don’t worry about the worst things that could happen.” But how could you not? We see it on the news, in different states, elementary schools, daycares, debates, hotels, grocery stores, malls, parades, gas stations, parks, interstates, and schools in general.
This is a problem that doesn’t have an easy solution. Professionals and politicians can’t seem to come to any agreement as to what should be done to protect our schools. While many schools have advanced security measures, it hasn’t prevented school shootings. While society figures it out, we will just continue doing our classwork while looking over our shoulders and waiting for the next school shooting headline. Attending school is something almost everyone does. It is a normal part of life, an everyday thing. Students shouldn’t be afraid of doing such a normal thing.
