A guest wanders the empty halls of a school, there is no one to be seen or heard. The rooms are all dark. He is greeted with an announcement of his arrival to the school, yet no one has come to see him. It is as if it is a surprise party just for him.

Into a classroom he goes and sees all the students hiding in a corner awaiting his arrival. The guest is welcomed. Obviously, the students have prepared for this special occasion. Loud bangs liven up the party, and shrieks fill the hall. Other classrooms hear the noise and anxiously wait their turn, just sitting in the dark all together.

With the way FHN has students and staff instructed to act in a lockdown drill, this could happen. Students are taught to sit in the corner, stay silent and not go on their phones. Teachers must lock the doors, close the blinds and keep the students calm. While it is nice to think intruders would just leave because they did not see anyone, it is very doubtful this would happen. The thought process is that law enforcement would be there in four to six minutes, but there are many problems that could arise in those few minutes.

Students sit in a corner with no knowledge of what to do if an intruder enters. This is a problem. Although many schools still choose to sit in the dark in the corner, they have taught their students what to do beyond that. Some schools, such as De Smet Jesuit, teach students to first try to escape. If that is not possible, they say to hide in a safe spot and barricade themselves. The last option is to engage with the person by either attacking to catch them off guard or to try to calmly get them to put down the weapon. FHSD needs to start implementing these ideas, as intruders are becoming more common. According to Activities Director Mike Janes, the District is reviewing the current procedure and considering changes in the future. There have been 18 school shootings in the U.S. already this year, so the District needs to implement changes with more urgency.

Anyone in the building can put the school on lockdown, but if there is a problem in the public address system, the message cannot be communicated. Yet again, students would not be trained to know what to do if the intruder were to come into the classroom, since there was no announcement. If it were to be a student to have a weapon on campus, students also would not know what to do. There are too many situations that could happen when the plan the district has just does not work. In general, most situations lead to a need for a general knowledge of self defense.

Since all students are required to take freshman gym, that is the perfect time to teach students basic self defense. Teaching students to first impair the intruder’s vision and then take the person out by the knees is a simple lesson that could save peoples’ lives. They do not necessarily need to take karate or anything at that level, just quick moves and knowledge of how to react to basic events that could transpire. Not only would it be beneficial if there was an intruder, but it would also help in the student’s life in the future. Just taking simple steps to prepare students more could end in students feeling more safe.

FHSD is one of the better districts that has a plan for intruders and practices that plan often, but adding minor changes like teaching self defense and how to barricade the door would be beneficial. No one wants to think of a school shooting happening at their school, but it is the sick reality of our world that we need to prepare for.

School shootings are not a joke. They happen too often. We need to prepare. Imagine being with the people in your class right now just sitting waiting in the dark all together. We do not have to be in that situation, but it takes change to keep that image from happening.