You are sitting in math class about to answer the final question on the biggest test of the year when all of a sudden you hear a roaring English siren coming from the loudspeaker. Your teacher jumps up from their seat, locking the door and turning the lights out. They run to the windows and shut all the blinds. You and a few other students grab desks to shove in front of the door. All of your classmates are huddled in the corner of the room, trembling with fear. Your school is currently under lockdown because an active shooter is roaming the halls.
Gun violence in schools is a real problem that needs to be addressed and prevented. Many Norwin High School teachers, students, and staff members are afraid to come to school in fear of their lives and safety in the face of gun violence in America.
According to WiseVoter.com, active shootings have occurred 288 times across America within the past decade. This is 96% of all active shootings in the world in that time. Gun violence in schools has altered the way students learn, the way teachers teach, and the way people react to trauma.
Schools across the globe are working on ways to increase safety and prevent shootings. Norwin High School is among one of these, consistently working on ways to make students safer.
“I would really like clear backpacks for kids to see what’s inside,” said Norwin High School Police Officer, Jeffery Pritts. “I’m on the fence with metal detectors and so are our principals, we don’t want to turn our schools into penitentiaries. Some schools have those but I’m not sure.”
Nearby schools such as Gateway and Penn Hills School Districts have metal detectors located at the entrances of their schools and stadiums, randomizing which students they scan in order to speed up the process.
According to TribLive, “‘When you’re constantly seeing information about school shootings, it’s always in the back of your mind, you don’t want to be lax,’ said Gateway School Director Mary Beth Cirucci at a recent safety committee meeting. ‘We always want to be aware of new technology and new ways to keep students and faculty safe.’”
Another potential idea that has been proposed for years is whether or not teachers should carry handguns on them in the classroom.
According to Districtadministration.com, 33 states in America allow teachers to carry guns at school.
“I am okay with teachers carrying firearms during the day,” said Pritts. “That would be up to the individual teacher and they would require training. This stuff isn’t always black and white,” Pritts said. “There’s a lot of gray area. It puts teacher’s jobs in a whole different light.”
In a recent Norwin High School journalism poll, 58 percent of students said they do not think school staff should carry guns.
The reason changes like this have not been made is because of the constant divide among community members, prolonging any real differences from happening.
Students have also made suggestions on how to improve school safety like adding more accessible mental health resources for students.
In the Norwin High School poll, 64 percent of students say that easier access to mental health resources would make schools more safe.
“People get angry and can’t express their feelings properly,” said an anonymous Norwin senior. “They would rather hurt people than talk about things. People don’t care about consequences anymore, they just get what they want.”
Schools across America have lockdown drills to better prepare students and faculty if a shooter were to enter the building. Norwin uses the acronym A.L.I.C.E. (A- alert, L- lockdown, I- inform, C- counter, E- evacuate) as a step-by-step lockdown guide.
“I believe A.L.I.C.E. drills are a plus,” Pritts said. “In the drills, the doors are locked so someone can’t get in the room and when you do drills, that better prepares you. You never know how each individual is going to react to an emergency.”
“I think that Norwin does a good job trying to make us feel safe at school,” said an anonymous Norwin sophomore. “Although hearing all the bad things that have happened to schools on the news scares me.”
Although the overwhelming majority of people believe Norwin is a safe school, there is always the possibility of something violent happening. Officer Pritts is adamant on implementing hands-on self defense to teachers as well as to students to protect them from this violence.
“I think that it is very important to learn some type of self defense,” Pritts said. “We taught teachers how to break up a student fight and I actually did handgun disarming. If you do that yourself, it gives people a little more confidence.”
Self-defense would require either a specific class for students, like a unit in gym class, or a mandatory after school event.
There are still many things America can do to prevent school shootings, but it starts with one small step. To do your part in keeping schools safe, donate or volunteer for a nonprofit gun violence charity, talk with your school faculty, or write a letter to your state’s legislature.
