“School is a place to learn, it isn’t a place for us to go and fear for our lives”. This was stated in an interview with Laura, a sophomore at Brookline High school. While Laura is just one person in the sea of thousands of pupils, her thoughts are on everyone’s mind.
It seems that just like in the cold war, when kids were taught to duck under their desks in case of a nuclear bomb threat, so are kids today being taught what to do in case of an active school shooter. This time, the threat is not from an outside country, it’s from one of the citizens. School shootings have been a problem in the United States for a long time. The escalation of incidents in recent years has proven more troubling than ever. Unfortunately, the people who have the power to solve this problem aren’t the ones who, in the end, have to suffer the consequences of failure to protect the schools.
One of the most recent school shootings that has left people’s lives in shambles happened in Uvalde, Texas. On May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old teenager walked into a middle school and opened fire on the kids and teachers, killing 21 people. This event created distress, panic, and fear among students all over the USA. Not only was this tragedy the second-worst school shooting of all time, but it occurred in an elementary school full of kids below the age of 10. This reporter interviewed, in mid June 2022, three teenagers from two Massachusetts high schools (Brookline High school and Newton North High School), to try and understand what’s on the minds of the students, how they feel about this horrendous situation, and their safety.
“It’s always at the back of my mind, that someone could open the door to the school and shoot us all up,” Laura said when asked about her general feelings about the events. Other students, like Adair, a Brookline High school sophomore, had the same feelings;
“I mean, school is supposed to be a safe place right? Everyone says it’s supposed to be…but it’s not”. An anonymous student from Newton North High School reflected, “It has become such a repetitive problem, that now when I hear about another shooting, all I can do is shake my head in disappointment. It isn’t even a surprise anymore. And with the recent Texas tragedy, now I also need to fear for the lives of my younger siblings.”
School was and still is supposed to be a place where kids go to socialize, learn, and generally feel safe. It’s supposed to be a haven, sealed off from the outside world, filled with kids the same age who make friends, and adults who are only there to educate and help them. Now this feeling is starting to drain out of all the students, and getting replaced with the fear of actual death.
One of the leading suggestions for preventing these shootings is adding security to the schools, and giving firearms to teachers. However, this whole concept of making the school feel like a fortress isn’t appealing to the students. Adair added: “I think frankly, it’s a little ridiculous. You need to prevent the problem where it starts, by restricting the overall access to firearms which shoot faster than hunting rifles.”
Massachusetts holds the title of one of the safest states regarding gun laws. To acquire a weapon in Massachusetts, people from the ages of 14 to 17 can apply for an FID (firearm identification) card, which will allow them to own smaller forms of firearms. To get an FID card, the applicants need to pass a federal check, which will dive into their mental health history, fingerprint background check, and go through a firearm safety course. This process takes from thirty to forty-five days, and parental consent is required.
When asked how they felt about this, one student said that “I don’t think anyone under the age of 18 should own a weapon because there isn’t a need to. I do think, however, that a 30-45 day background check is thorough enough”. She stressed: “I don’t think children should be having guns…I don’t think that even if you are a legal adult, and even if you are 18, you should be able to get a weapon. I would still be a bit hesitant about that, because, as you know, the brain doesn’t stop developing until the age of 25. How can we trust someone under that age with a gun?”
What is the outcome in the eyes of the students? After the horrible attack on the Texas elementary school, what does the future hold in terms of safety? In the opinion of Massachusetts high school students, it seems the situation won’t completely solve itself any time soon. Right now America is too divided to solve something as big as the gun problem. When one side proposes a major solution, the other side does its best to suppress it. The most we can do is find a middle ground and put a Band-Aid on the gaping wound, and it seems that is what’s happening right now.
The Senate recently passed the “The bipartisan gun deal”, a deal that invests more money into mental health, school safety, and general crisis intervention programs. Alongside this, the deal also brought up a lot more talk and discussion within the government regarding firearms. The students overall are very glad and relieved that some progress is being made towards their safety, and while this, unfortunately, won’t completely solve the problem, the deal gave everyone a sense of hope for the future.
As of this writing, at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois, this country is dealing with yet another horrifying mass shooting of six people killed and dozens (including a child) hospitalized. We need to deal with this pandemic of violence.
