by Marilyn Nunez – Staff Writer
In the year 2018 alone, there have been about 297 mass shootings solemnly in the United States. That is nearly as many days as there are in the entire year. A good amount of those shootings took place on school grounds. In fact, there has been, on average, one school related shooting every week this year. Mass shootings can occur at any given moment, at any given place, and at the break of any individual.
Ms.Coyle, a teacher at Carson High School, addressed that the leading cause of these shootings in her opinion is “… lack of control, [poor] mental health, and lack of people respecting one another.”
The most recent mass shooting occurred just this month, on the 7th, in Thousand Oaks. The suspect apparently had post traumatic stress disorder and he refused to seek treatment. It is unknown how he got in possession of a gun, but according to businessinsider.com, he injured ten people and killed thirteen others. The most situations like this repeat itself, the more people need to consider how high school campuses are to react to and better prepare for unfortunate events like this.
Several students on campus shared their beliefs on whether or not they feel safe on Carson Complex, and if, when they trudge through those large blue gates, they feel shielded from any catastrophic event. Furthering the discussion and including more and more individuals, the truth was revealed; a great amount of students do not think CHS is prepared for such event if it were to happen.
Ms. Coyle continued, “ I believe it’s too easy to get on campus. I don’t think we [do enough to check] people coming on to our campus. They check IDs but no one checks your package.”
She’s absolutely correct. Our school must upgrade its amount of security. Yes, it’s only a high school, but unfortunately, tragedies happen all around us.
When asked how the issue could be limited, prevented or even resolved, CHS senior, Isabella Gutierrez, stated, “… hatred is still [a factor]. I don’t ever think it could be resolved, but I do think more… limitations such as gun control could help… [people] think they could say anything they want, therefore criticism becomes hate speech and that hate speech turns into violent crime actions.”
Administrators should consider placing metal detectors at the entrances of the school, but the best way to prevent the issue is to show kindness to others and offer emotional and mental support to your peers. Every act of kindness and every precaution can help minimize the large impact gun violence has on countless lives.
Dean Allen concludes, “Invest in mental help. Identify those who need mental health. There is no easy fix. Every school needs an armed security guard. You can never get too comfortable. I think we need to improve the students mentality. The fire alarm goes off and most just kind of ignore it. I think we need to realize that it could happen to us. I hope it never does, but it could happen. We are just as vulnerable as any other school.”
Mass shootings are severely dreadful events. If you see something, say something. You could be saving your life and the life of several others.
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