Editorial: To insure school security, adress the root causes of violence

To insure school security, address the root causes of violence

By Emily SpearClass of 2007

Picture this: A young girl steps out of a school bus onto the curb in front of her school. She looks up at the barred windows and several security guards that surround the entrance every day. All of this is familiar to her, from the metal detectors to the ID card she wears around her neck. This scene takes place in your safe neighborhood a few years from now. Surprised? Many people associate this kind of extreme security with urban areas that have neighborhoods with high crime rates. It seems far fetched to connect metal detectors with small town elementary schools, yet this is our country’s future. In as few as five years this could be reality. In the past ten years there have been multiple school shootings leading to much debate and controversy over school security. 261 students and 203 adults have been killed in the shootings world-wide. 38 of the 51 incidents in the past decade have occurred in the United States. It becomes obvious that in famous cases like the shootings at Columbine High School, the amount of violence in video games or a lack of security are factors far less involved with this attack than the psychiatric development of the teens in question. Unfortunately, an idea that could change all this is often overlooked by America. The argument is that schools should be made over from the inside out, yet the culprits identified are video games, morbid music, and violence on the television. Students’ home situations, the way they are treated in school and their mental health are the most likely root causes. The question, “What is this world coming to?”, has been asked by every generation, but the next question should be, “What can we do to change what the world is coming to?” Yes, there have been investigations of the shooters involved in these heinous acts. Their mental health is examined, the school environment is critiqued, and people start to feel better about what happened if they find someone or something to blame. However, it would be more beneficial for schools to discuss a new student psychology counseling department instead of a law suit against everyone’s favorite television show. We can not change what the world is coming to through heightened security. Bars on the windows and security guards at the door only make students and parents feel more unsafe and paranoid. Teaching non-violence from an early age and promoting the involvement of school counselors in the lives of this nation’s children would guarantee safety. It can be said that America’s schools have just as big a role in shaping the personalities of our youth as their parents do. Students spend half their year, roughly 1260 hours, in school. Many surveys say that school shootings and other attacks are still rare, If schools start implementing anti-bullying programs, creating student psychiatric counseling departments that enforce the ideas of non-violence and asking teachers to look for students in trouble, the number of these tragedies will remain low. Everyone can agree that schools have to take responsibility for the well being of their students, but the best way is to better understand what is really behind school shootings instead of covering the problem with severe security measures like metal detectors and school police forces.