Danger rarely ever sets foot in our school.
It came close October 30 when the Wilson Talent Center in Mason went into lockdown because of a student who had a threatening weapon; juniors and seniors from our school were there during that situation.
Speaking of lockdown, how does our own school deal with an internal threat? The teacher slips a green sign under the door, basically inviting the intruder in, and everyone piles into a corner like sitting targets, praying for their lives.
Common sense would dictate to do something instead of waiting for harm, and our school must address this issue.
Since 2013, 254 school shootings occurred in our country. So far in Michigan, seven instances dealt with a shooting on school property according to the Every Town Research website, which shows a map of which schools have experienced school shootings.
A recently introduced method is appearing in public schools in Michigan including neighboring Dansville Public Schools. The method, typically known as the “Run, Hide, Fight” method, replaces older procedures.
In fact, our current lockdown system is derived from the “duck and cover” method used during the ‘50s during the Cold War during nuclear threats. Seems pretty ineffective for protection of bullets than it does of bombs, don’t you think?
ALICE stands for Alert Lockdown Inform Counter Evacuate is a program that helps train students K-12 for an active shooter. According to the ALICE training institute, the federal and state governments recommends simulation strategies to be used.
Some of the training requires drills of real shooters with prop guns which causes controversy with parents and children. But, simulations would be the most beneficial practice to have, because if there was an active shooter in the building, the students would have a reflex to what the bullets would sound like, how they should be prepared and how to fight.
According to the same source, 24 shootings — nearly one in six — occurred after a confrontation or verbal argument intensified because of the presence of a gun rather than in spite of it.
We must acquire more options than just our current passive system, and students have something to do when their lives are on the line. We should have a chance to fend for ourselves in dangerous situations, and the school’s method today would not work.
When the unthinkable happens, no matter what the cost, students and teachers must be prepared to deal with that situation.
In our newest update to the school, the front entrances have better security, but that does not necessarily stop the danger with the possibility of a student coming into the school with a weapon, such as a gun or a knife.
A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that 5.4 percent of schoolchildren carried a gun, knife or club on school property on at least one day during the month according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance by the CDC.
Yes, it is hard to think about; there are endless possibilities of danger being in any school. But, if the students were given a chance to protect themselves offensively instead of defensively, students and staff would more likely survive as shown statistically by the 300 schools and universities who have implemented ALICE since the mid-2000s, according to the ALICE training institute.
Students and staff should be able to try to distract or even fight threats. There needs to be a change in our school, before danger consumes us.