At the end of 2021, the nation was devastated by a school shooting in Oxford, Michigan, that took four lives and injured seven. It was a deadly end to a violent year of school shootings that killed 26 people and injured 96 in the last five months of the year alone.

It can be hard to see, but physical protocols are put in place here that aim to keep students safer. Visitors are scanned and given background checks. Doors are locked after school starts. If someone unauthorized does attempt to enter, all staff is expected to be notified immediately.

“I see the security measures in place every day,” junior Brume Ogufere said. “I see the adults at every unlocked entrance, and I feel that Lake Forest is generally a good and safe town.”

However, Director of Safety and Security Lane Linder worries about the “bystander effect.”

“People think ‘Oh, someone else will report this’ but they don’t, and our rigorous social and emotional wellness program has been trained to help students that have things going on, things that could turn into something dangerous,” Linder said. “If there’s anything I truly need people to know, it’s that you can stop this. You have the power to see a struggle and bring light to it.”

No protection works as well as students speaking up when they see signs, he said.

“It’s been widely studied by the FBI and Secret Service,” Linder said. “In many cases, people that participate in acts of targeted violence have made their intentions known beforehand. You would be amazed at how many things could have been stopped if just one person had pointed out the warning signs.”

Just before the Oxford shooting, the shooter’s social media accounts included threats. Prosecutors now plan to use the posts in court.

“All the school shooting headlines showing up in the media make me apprehensive because it really does show these things can happen anywhere,” junior Tally Feingold said.

More recently, a Lincoln Park student posted a shooting threat, claiming “I’ll be bringing a high point to school to shoot the kids that annoy me and I’m explaining how I’m going to do it.” He was charged with a felony.

Even so, students like sophomore Addison Schwan say they feel sense of security here.

“I do feel safe at LFHS, knowing that there are people I can talk to if something seems wrong,” Schwan said. “Between security and teachers, I know I can speak to either of them if I feel unsafe.”