Guns vs. Students: Are we really safe?
Mariam Sharif
Gun violence is a big issue in America, but have you wondered about its impact on you? Have you ever thought about Philadelphia, how events as tragic as shootings could happen at any moment? Whether it be on your way to or from school, walking up to school, or even in school, we should educate ourselves on the steps that our own city is taking to ensure our safety in our neighborhoods. Crime happens every single day, and we should be able to better see how the city takes care of us.
In Philadelphia, there have been 257 shootings as of October this year alone. Gun violence not only hurts the community, but it affects everyone, even those not involved. With the recent shooting taking place in North Philly, that really got me thinking about how the big school related companies are watching over children that go to school in dangerous places. At Carver, we have our metal detectors and whatnot, but what about outside of school?
From my research, I wasn't really able to find anything about gun violence and special laws to protect schools such as our from dangerous threats. The only things we really do have are lock downs and shelters-in-place, which are drills that we practice once a year. These are helpful but how effective are they? According to SafePlans, lock downs are not very effective when it comes to mass shootings; there have been 307 school shootings since Columbine, which means something is obviously wrong. As for a shelter in place, they can be effective based on the situation. Ready.gov says that “There may be situations, depending on your circumstances and the nature of the disaster, when it's simply best to stay where you are and avoid any uncertainty outside by “sheltering in place". "
What can we do ourselves to ensure the safety of ourselves and others? Stay aware, and take care of yourselves. Friendly reminders to be safe may seem minuscule, but they mean a lot. In a time where it seems as though shootings & violence are normalized, the best we can do is take care of each other and be there for each other.