Schools are places for education, places to make connections. Schools should not be places that students fear going to each day. Recent events at Evergreen High School, a school less than two hours from Manitou Springs High School, have yet again added to that fear.
The shooting at Evergreen High School on Sept. 10 has served as a reminder that school shootings are real. Even if it has not happened to you, everyone is affected.
Many students at MSHS have interacted in some sort of way with someone from Evergreen. We compete with them in tournaments, race in the same leagues as them and drive through their town on our way to our various activities.
Regardless of your position on guns, we should all be able to agree that they do not belong in schools. Innocent people should not be dying just because someone else is mad and had access to a firearm. We should be able to go to school and learn without the lingering fear that we’re going to lose our lives.
Following these events, it’s important to remember the ways in which we are safe.
The school security officers and the patrol officers in town work together and are well-prepared to step in and respond to incidents at MSHS. Administrators and teachers know and practice procedures and make sure that students participate in drills.
Gary Johnson, Manitou’s school resource officer, makes sure that everyone has a good understanding of safety priorities and procedures. “We’re planning to do a hands-on training during this first fall break that’s coming up, so that all the security guards and patrol officers are on the same page,” Johnson said.
Along with security being well-prepared, MSHS is a small, tightly knit community. Administrators and teachers work hard to connect to students and make everyone feel welcome.
With MSHS being a small school, students have the opportunity to make connections with everyone. Whether you’re best friends with the person next to you in the hall or not, you probably still know and have made some sort of connection to them.
“People have a little bit more respect for each other here than they do at the bigger schools,” Johnson said. “It’s easier for people to notice when something’s not right or someone needs help with something.”
Students have resources to turn to if they need support or have any concerns. Students are able to go to anyone in administration, speak with the counselors, talk to the SRO or use anonymous methods of reporting such as Safe-to-Tell.
It is important for us to make an effort to be kind, to make an effort to include and listen to other students. You never know who is struggling; you never know what is happening in someone else’s lives.
You have the opportunity to help your peers feel safer. You have the opportunity to make your peers feel respected. You have the opportunity to make your peers feel included. Take that opportunity: make the choice to be kind.
