At Norwin High School and throughout Pennsylvania, A.L.I.C.E. drills or lockdown drills are performed two times a year. Although students and teachers understand the need and importance of the drill as it will prepare them, stress is often induced by these drills.
A.L.I.C.E. stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate–your life is in the hands of these four simple words. Students are continually reminded that the ALICE drills are important as they will prepare them for active shootings, but is the stress worth the drill?
Almost 60 percent of over 50 students polled at Norwin High School experience some anxiety with the A.L.I.C.E. drills according to a Knight Krier poll.
The main anxiety inducing factors include the sound alarm and the possibility of a real shooting. As anxiety is a concern that is being caused by the A.L.I.C.E., it should be noticed that they are a drill that needs to be done.
“The idea of ever having to do something like that and it not being a drill is just very nerve racking,” junior Baylee Webber said.
Norwin High School is not the only school feeling these anxieties around the A.L.I.C.E. drills.
According to an article in the Algonquin Harbinger Newspaper, “Although A.L.I.C.E. drills prepare people for the worst, some participants experience stress and anxiety during them. However, Principal Sean Bevan holds that they are necessary.”
If other high schools feel anxious about the drill, then it prompts the questions whether or not the drill is truly worth it in helping students prepare for an active shooting.
“Tell students about the drills a few days before the drill and do daily reminders leading up to it even putting the warning on kwin in the mornings would work as well as giving them extra time for if they need to go somewhere like guidance for the drill they have time to get there,” junior Kiera Bolton said.
By telling students beforehand, they are able to mentally prepare themselves for the A.L.I.C.E. drill. It will allow them to set the necessary precautions, such as seeking help from the guidance counselor.
According to the New York Times article, “There hasn’t been a strong body of evidence that these drills are helping,” Megan Carolan, vice president of research at the Institute for Child Success, said.
Students at Norwin High School are feeling anxiety because of the drill, attention must be brought to this. Students feeling anxiety are mainly from the loud sound that buzzes during the drill as well as the possibility of a real shooting.
In a poll sent out to Norwin students 65 percent of the 52 students polled said that the main anxiety inducing factor is the possibility of a real shooting occurring.
“Control the volume of the alert after several minutes,” freshman Teya Craycraft said.
“Because drills mean there is nothing actually wrong, the only thing that could worry me is the possibility of an emergency or the fact that this is a serious issue in out country,” sophomore Brynn Darland said.
The possibility of a real shooting is an anxiety inducing factor, as the A.L.I.C.E. drill reminds students that we do it for a reason. That reason being if a shooter were to come to our school we need to be prepared. However, some students believe that schools should not have to do this drills, instead there should be more control on guns.
“Gun control would make [the ALICE drills] less necessary,” Gabriel Wilson, a junior said.
If there was more gun control, there would be less of a possibility of the shootings occurring, which would decrease the amount of stress students feel.
“No one ever really takes it seriously because they know it’s a drill and that stresses me out,” freshman Ciera Berthelesen said. “Because if it was real I feel like it wouldn’t be any different because this is the way that everyone has been acting while practicing it.”
Many students and teachers have become desensitized and used to this drill that has become the norm and no one really pays attention to it. While that may be the students’ perspective in their classroom, there are different options on whether or not students take the drill seriously.
These drills are important and it is important that teachers and students continue to stay focused as they do them. Although they cause many students anxiety, it will prepare them for how to handle the real situation if it occurs.
“I think that the main parts of it (A.L.I.C.E. drill) are the best,” Choby said. “I’m not saying we couldn’t do a better job of practicing the drill, like the whole building. I would say that because there are so many different locations and different types of students, it’s really hard to do one size fits all. We do have to be consistent because you don’t know where you’re going to be or when it is going to happen.”
