While school shootings are becoming a very serious topic, they are not something people speak that much of. This situation is getting to a point where its a daily thing or occurrence. The year of 2019 has had 22 or more shootings in the U.S where someone has been killed or injured. It has come to the point of this generation where if someone sees or hears others doing something they will follow in their footsteps.

People are taking it more as a joking matter than a serious thing that can actually occur. This could happen to any school at any time. In the year of 2019 it’s been getting more and more lethal than it used to be. What are we going to do to stop this occurrence at McPherson High? 

Things such as lockdown drills could help us be prepared. Lockdown drills are often used to help prepare students for a shooting situation.  Macyn Ward said, “Definitely, you always wonder if your school is gonna be next. Especially after last year, where we had a real hard lockdown near the end of the year and we were all terrified. McPherson is a relatively safe town in that sense, but these days you never know. I can’t deny I’ve thought about hiding places in each of my classes.” With the increased threats of shootings, lockdowns help preparedness.

Tyson Kendrick, assistant principal said, “I think that anytime you can better prepare yourself for a situation the more adequate you are at that task. It might seem pointless but if anybody is ever in that situation, it is important for them to draw upon their experiences in these drills.  Students and staff should know how to handle themselves in a crisis such as an active shooter so they can react in the proper manner.”

What can we do to stop this from happening? Will trying to be positive and not negative help the situation from not happening?  Kendrick shared ways in which are talked about, “The language of crisis drills often gets just lumped into one word what we all refer to as a lockdown. In reality there are several types of crisis drills and language. Sometimes the building just needs to be secure and students can go about their normal day, other times they need to be contained in the classroom but still can continue teaching and learning, and then there is the lockdown where you prepare to be secure in your classroom. All these need to be in place in the school and students and staff should know the differences between all three.”