Student security not up to par

Hailey Garcia, Guest Columnist

With the recent attack on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Fla. it should be obvious that we are not safe in public schools.

However, as a privileged country we are unaware of the possible dangers on campus. I myself have been on the same campus as a dangerous and armed individual.

When I look back at the multiple instances where this has happened to me, I realized I wasn’t actually afraid. I never thought they would make it to my classroom or run into me in the hallway. But I was naive to think I was safe.

Even though no one was hurt by the individuals in possession of these guns on any of the school campuses I have been on, that was not the case for all schools across America. As we know from the news, school shootings have become a huge problem.

It’s frustrating that we have to put our trust in the hands of a man who changes his mind every two seconds by tweeting what he thinks. Tessa Berenson highlighted five ideas Trump has had in reference to gun control.

No thought was put into these ideas and what’s worse is that Trump posted these ideas on Twitter. Using a social media platform to jump on a call to action is not the best way to handle a serious situation such as this one. 

Making sure background checks are more thorough isn’t a bad idea. Allowing teachers to carry weapons on school campuses is a terrible idea, however. That seems to me like it would just end in more unnecessary deaths. Trump seemed to have put no initial thought into his ideas before voicing them on a public platform.

Why can’t America get off its high horse and realize that in this situation, we are no longer role models? Some countries look to the United States as an ideal place, but with a scenario like this we should be looking to other countries for advice on how to handle this.

According to The Guardian, the gun homicide rate in the U.S. is 25 times higher than other high-income countries. Since the passing of gun control laws in other countries, the crime rate by guns has gone down an extraordinary amount.

It’s amazing to see how hard it is for people to realize how huge this problem is and how simple the fix could be. The power that young voices have is the strength of our future.

The March For Our Lives campaign is a symbol of that strength. The students and staff of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is Parkland, FL should not be forgotten about. Other schools that have fallen victim to gun violence should not be forgotten either.

Yet in the wake of this most recent attack people are just now starting to think about the other schools that have fallen victim to gun violence. What actions are taking place to prevent another one of these situations from happening?

As much as it scares me to think about, Los Medanos College could be the next school to experience these cruel acts. Our police services are great, but what about the one time things do go wrong?

We can’t always put the trust of our safety into the hands of a team that rides around in golf carts checking our cars for parking permits.

It saddens me that I can say I have been on a school campus with a gunman within close proximity. We are so unaware of the possibilities that can somehow become a reality. As students and faculty, we should be aware of these realities.

We are not always safe. Until we are, we need to speak up and make change.