Although school shootings reached an all time high in 2022, LFHS has created a safe environment here. Two weeks ago, there was a bomb threat called at LFHS, causing the school to go into a “shelter in place.” Students inside weren’t able to leave the building, those outside were searched, and every exit was under watch by a staff member.
Whenever this happens, it seems that some students get angry. Some students get scared too. The staff doesn’t provide much information on what is going on, leaving students wondering what the issue is.
There are many different personalities at LFHS, and you don’t know how someone may react to an emergency announcement. Some kids joke about the situation and others are frightened by it. It can be hard for students to focus on learning knowing that they might be at risk. We often automatically imagine the worst case scenario when situations like these arise. This can be attributed to the lack of knowledge that students and teachers have on emergency situations.
Personally, if something happens in a neighboring town or in Lake Forest that makes the school enter a soft lockdown, I don’t worry too much. The benefit to soft lockdowns is that you can continue to do school work. Whereas in a hard lockdown, all activities are shut down.
However, we as a society need to be better at keeping students safe overall. Situations like the one two weeks ago occur often now, which is not how it should be.
Schools have become a target of violence, which is a serious problem. According to the Sandy Hook Promise, in 2022, over 43,000 students were exposed to gunfire at a school, and 34 children and adults were killed. While I’m aware that the situation at LFHS was not as severe, it all goes back to the same issue. What has caused the rise in school tragedies and emergencies?
Last year, a bullet was found in the library. Shortly after that, there was a map of LFHS found in the boys bathroom, which caused panic because it included a threat against a staff member and Nazi sign.
Some students are getting sick of hearing these threats. Some students brush them off and go about their day. I would lean towards the latter, but it can be frightening. Every student reacts to emergency situations differently and we need to ensure that everyone feels safe.
