By Emily Ferro –
In general, school is considered a safe environment. From the young age of five, parents trust the teachers and other staff of the school to care for their children, the most important thing in a parent’s life. A majority of the time, there is no reason for parents to worry. Recently, however, there is an appalling amount of in-school violence reported. Last year, at my former high school, there were six bomb threats in one school year. Fortunately, none of the threats were followed through, but that does not diminish the frightening nature of the threat.
This past Tuesday, three students were killed and two were badly injured at Chardon High School in Ohio in a school shooting. The students were harmed by a classmate. While both of the previous instances of violence are distant stories, unacceptable acts can even happen right here at Salve Regina.
On Tuesday evening, everyone in the Salve Regina community received an e-mail from security— Crime Alert. This past weekend, one of our students was the victim of sexual assault. Each of these occurrences is tragic to me. There is enough harm done in the world because of natural disasters and natural causes that we as people should be doing everything in our power to keep the bad from happening when it is in our control.
While it is a good thing that there was not a panic over these events, as panic is never useful, the underwhelming reaction to them concerns me. I can remember past instances of school violence putting society on hold—Columbine and the more recent Virginia Tech. This recent Ohio shooting, however, seems to be less noticed, at least among my peers.
When discussing my article with a friend, I was posed with the question of why I was writing an article about school violence, as if an assault on campus was not enough to talk about it. When I mentioned the shooting in Ohio, the only response was, “What happened? Did I miss something?”
We live in a society connected to the internet, where everything is available. It’s a shame that our social media news feeds are far more likely to notify us of our second cousin’s plans for the day than they are to notify us of something that is actually news. Recent news apps from sources such as Washington Post and Yahoo News which allow stories to be easily shared on Facebook are a step in the right direction, but it is not enough. The internet and social media are essentials for people today, but perhaps all of our online connections are causing a social disconnect that we crave.
An article in Fox Carolina suggested that the rate of in-school violence dropped in the years following the Columbine shooting because peers and adults began paying more attention to the people around them. If this article is right, then maybe it is time to start paying a little more attention. Rather than texting while walking, smile while walking—at friends and strangers alike. While on campus, make an effort to leave your phone in your pocket. When you can name every person in every one of your classes, then you’re on the right track.
This past week has been a wakeup call for me, and perhaps it needs to be a wakeup call for us all.
