True Flaws in the Intruder Drill
Is the school truly safe during an intruder drill?
Julia Norcross (left) and Twanasha Briggs during an intruder drill, scared of the unknown– or that the same thing that happened in Florida will happen to them. Hopefully their school won’t fail them.
On February 14, 2018, there was a shooting in Florida at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Sadly, seventeen people were killed, and schools across the globe walked out of their classes on March 14, 2018 to honor them and protest against gun violence. While gun violence is a huge problem, students also see flaws in the intruder drill. In fact, many students at Lafayette High School don’t feel safe during an intruder drill. Freshman Alexandra Ainslie says, “When it’s an intruder drill I don’t feel safe. Normally teachers cover the windows with black paper and intruder could easily break it and come in.” Some students believe that we should take out the windows and have more secure doors. The easy accessibility would allow the shooter to break open a door or break the window. Senior Heather Bloodworth says, “I don’t feel safe because the shooters are mostly the students. So, they know everything that’s going on. It wouldn’t matter if we stayed quiet or turned off the lights— they know we are here.” It also takes time to call the front office if the teachers see an intruder. By the time an announcement is made, the shooter could be already inside.
If there was an intruder during lunchtime, would you know what to do? In fact, only 3 out of the 10 students that the Ledger interviewed knew where they would go if there was a drill during lunch. According to a member of the security staff, “All students should go in the auditorium. It wouldn’t matter if it was crowded because it’s better than getting shot at. Of course, students near an exit will run out there if the shooter is inside.” This is a good plan, but none of the students seem to know about it.
Finally, there were some mixed feelings about the intruder and fire drills that happened in February. Says Sophomore Julia Norcross, “I do like having fire and lock down drills together because it will help us prepare for the real thing if the fire alarm does go off as we’re on a lockdown drill.” On the other hand, Bloodworth says, “That was a bad idea because the noise was so loud that if the teacher was telling me something, I wouldn’t know. Plus, some students could have a serious problem with light flashing in the room, like having a seizure in the worst cases.” Students have suggested improvements to the current intruder drill plans. Norcross says, “An improvement is help to figure out which room to run to if you go to the bathroom and the bathroom is in an odd location.” Sophomore Emmanuel Santiago says, “we need more security in the school to help watch out better and get students safer faster.”
