Professors at Otterbein have optional crisis training for school shootings that many haven’t taken, while 95% of American public school students have gone through some form of training.
School shooting drills are the topic of discussion, not school shooting simulations. There has been controversy over simulations that have caused PTSD in students because it acts too much like a real event. A correct school drill is done with prior notice and no amount of stress, it should be handled the same as a fire drill.
Many believe that fire drills are important for students to learn, so school shooting drills should be deemed essential as well. While it is statistically more likely for a fire to happen than a school shooting, there is an average of one student a year dying in a school fire, while there have been 18 deaths and 38 injuries from school shootings this year alone.
Freshman Nicholas Udics had school shooting drill in his high school and believes it was important for students to know. “Safety wise if something did happen it wouldn’t be a total panic. Some people would know at least what to do,” he said.
There haven’t been many laws passed to help prevent school shootings except for the Biparisan Safer Communities Act passed by President Joe Biden in 2022. Topics included in the bill ranged from cracking down on criminals who buy guns illegally to increasing funding for mental health resources in schools. Many believe that school shootings have occurred because of a mental health crisis in America, however, these events are happening now and the effects of therapy will only show in the future.
These actions could include implementing effective school shooting drills, having bulletproof glass in windows, or installing a silent “panic” button that is connected directly to a police station. Politicians have been dragging their feet about gun control laws and it is unclear when they will pass a law that will be effective.
Students and staff on the Otterbein campus can only hope that a problem like this will never occur but that hope shouldn’t turn into negligence. School shootings happen and people need to be trained on what to do in these instances.
We need more productive political discussions
