1 Problem, 2000 Solutions

“It would never happen here,” is what some, if not many, think when the topic of school shootings inevitably is brought up. Some use humor to cope; others flinch at the thought of such a tragedy. But the idea of school shootings is now more important than ever. School shootings have occurred at least 50 times this year in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive at CNN. While reaching out for interviews on this topic, it was clear that students and teachers were hesitant about what they wanted to say on this sensitive subject. They wondered what they could say. We felt the same way as journalists, but also felt convicted that talking about safety – and everyone’s role in community safety – is greater than the fear and hesitancy we felt. Crimson Newsmagazine dedicated the October
Issue to school shootings not as a way to offend or frighten but to contribute to a larger conversation that could save lives. We believe that students at PRHS owe it to their community, their school, and their classmates to report and speak out against violent threats.
There is work to do. We have reluctant students among us. In a school survey of 100 students, 12 percent said that they would not inform authorities if a potential threat was made and it crossed their ears or phones. We urge students to step up into the power of their reporting. “It’s something like 94% of school shooters say they’re gonna do it before they do it. That means if 94% are saying something, somebody is hearing it, you can tell us,” Assistant Principal Michael Godsey said. We agree with Godsey that ALERT and INFORM are the most important actions in the ALICE protocol that has been communicated to students in their Tutorial classes. Without students’ willingness to alert to possible threats on campus, we lose our primary defense mechanism. “If there are 2000 students here, that’s 2000 sheriffs listening and reporting what’s going on,” Godsey said. As students sit in class, talk at lunch and scroll on social media, they are abundantly open to catching any threat. Though some find comfort in thinking “it wouldn’t happen here,” we as a school, and as students have the power to keep that statement true.