Since the Columbine High School attack of 1999, which left 12 students and one teacher dead and reshaped how Americans viewed mass shootings, we now have a generation of young people who have witnessed more than one school shooting. Most recently, gunshots erupted on the vast Michigan State University campus, killing three students and injuring five others. Unfortunately, many on campus felt a chilling sense of familiarity. Today, several college students were just children when the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killed 26 students, teachers and staff members in 2012. Nine years later, the Oxford High School shooting in a nearby township outside of Detroit left four teenagers dead. These were just but a representative few of the recent school mass shootings in the U.S.
Following the recent shooting at Michigan State University, the New York Times interviewed several students only to find that a number had also experienced a school shooting when they were in elementary and high schools. One student interviewed on campus, who was at Sandy Hook Elementary on the day of the shooting, was reported to have said that “it was incomprehensible to have lived through two mass shootings in her 21 years.” University faculty interviewed also noted that a number of their students had experienced a school shooting while in primary or secondary school. Can one imagine how this latest school shooting must psychologically affect these young people? I couldn’t imagine their current state of mind!
Those of us who attended college understand that the idea of security on campus is a difficult concept because of the size of a campus, with many buildings and facilities being frequently used by students, teachers and administrators. Since mass school shootings occurred more frequently, colleges have introduced new security or safety measures in order to protect students and to prevent casualties from such incidents. These include requiring key cards or photo identification to enter most campus buildings, sports facilities and residences. Common across the country, campus wide systems were introduced whereby security alerts are sent to cellphones when there is a possible or actual threat on campus. However, in most cases students must opt into the service, rather than opting out. Campus police departments as part of their continuous training learn to prepare for and how to respond to threats. In the U.S., they often work closely with Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.) campus liaisons to track potential threats from outside the school. Many colleges also have threat-assessment teams made up of public safety officers, counsellors and student affairs groups, who try to spot troubled students and staff members who might be considering violent acts. In such cases, school and community support services are made available to students with any issues. However, this does not help those situations, as in the case of Michigan State, where the perpetrator comes from off-campus and is not affiliated directly with the school.
The ideal is that campuses of colleges and universities are meant to be open in the spirit of higher learning and freedom. Therefore, at the post-secondary level, the authorities have to undergo a balancing act between allowing freedom of movement and enforcing security on campuses. In the U.S. in particular, this is not an easy thing to do. Even in Canada, colleges and universities have introduced more security measures in light of what has happened south of the border. Fortunately, Canadians have seen far fewer violent incidents on our campuses, especially incidents involving gun violence. Remembering back to my days in college, it is a shame that young people today go off to campuses under such a cloud of insecurity. One has to feel for the parents who can only assume that their children are learning and developing in a safe environment.
Students today are being forced to be ever vigilant, recognizing that even college campuses are but another reflection of our societal woes. Gone it appears are the more carefree and anticipated opportunities for growth that come with college and university experiences. Increasingly, students are being forced to deal with continuous security and safety issues. However, perhaps these experiences are meant to prepare young people for what they will experience in later life. Alas, reality has indeed embraced our campuses.
FROLITICKS 