Page 4 - Demo

The Unthinkable
America’s students are growing up in a generation where school shootings are a reality, not an anomaly.
Story by Emma Roberts
The 1999 Columbine shooting occurred two years before many of this year’s senior class were born. Throughout their lifetime, there have been more than 200 school shootings since the tragedy in Littleton, Colorado. Even almost 20 years later, preventing school shootings remains a nationwide issue. Columbine was perpetrated by two current students, so outside school security was not seen as the main problem at the time. The year of Columbine, just 19% of schools
said they used security cameras to monitor
buildings. By 2013, 75 percent of American
schools reported they had installed them.
The 2013-2014 school year is also
the year of the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre, which prompted a new
wave of changes to the school
safety. Even with all of the reforms
resulting from Columbine and
Sandy Hook, school shootings
still are not the unthinkable. While
the school surveillance system at
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High
School was found to help police after
the incident in creating a timeline, the cameras did not prevent the attacker
from entering school grounds. The school’s footage was on a 20 minute delay, leaving officers and SWAT team members blind as they approached the threat.
One security measure that students may overlook
the importance of is practicing regular lock-down drills. Lock- down drills may seem unnecessary to some students, but
knowing what to do in case of an emergency has been proven to prevent tragedies from
In case of
emergency
Photos by Thomas Hart
happening. For instance, at an elementary school in California a lock-down was immediately administered after hearing what sounded like a gunshot. The school’s surveillance video showed the gunman unsuccessfully trying to enter the school building, which caused him to become frustrated and leave the campus as a result. Unfortunately, the gunman managed
to injure seven children, but the lock-down prevented what could have been a horrific massacre.
It is difficult to believe that 20 years after the lessons learned at Columbine, school shootings are becoming even more of a fearful reality to all students. February 14 is supposed to be a day of love, but this year it was replaced with a day of shock, horror, and mourning in the Parkland community and
across America.
Following the tragic events of
the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting, survivors of the shooting transformed their grief into activism and advocated for change when they launched the #NeverAgain movement. Multiple marches and events were organized; one of these events was the National School Walkout, where multiple schools nationwide, including Edgewood, participated. As a result of the nationwide concern and protest, Governor Rick Scott
signed SB 7026, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act, which made significant security reforms to all Florida schools, including Edgewood.
The two most noticeable changes to the school are the parking lot gate and call box, and the front office system for entering the school grounds. While some students may never use the call box, those who are dual enrolled have to use the call box to alert the front office and be buzzed in. While the new changes might seem inconvenient to some, the gates could prevent an unwanted person from gaining access to the campus. Principal Mrs. Jackie Ingratta has had her fair share of experience with trespassers and unwanted persons
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throughout her teaching career.