Reflection Post #2
I think that in our understanding of Columbine there are somethings that could be seen as a good lesson. With the Columbine shooting you can tell that there was not really a plan that was gone over by the students on what to do incase there was an event of a mass shooting. Now we all practice drills and go over plans of what to do incase there is a shooting that takes place in school. I think that this event also showed that many schools aren't "mass shooting" proof when they renovated the school they extended the entryway on the west entrance where those two students were shot. I think that schools should be built with at least a little thought of "what if"? But I do believe the most important lesson is that of that gun laws should be more strict in the grand scheme of things because even two decades later there are still not strong laws in place that could help prevent such things from happening.
This was a well written blog post, nice job! I agree when people typically discuss Columbine, they do not discuss the stuff surrounding the shooting, people tend to focus solely on the shooting. I was also unaware that IEDs had been used and it makes this attack that much more heartbreaking. I also agree that Columbine was a big reason that schools nationwide have drills to practice in case a mass shooting ever did happen in their communities. While other mass shootings had occurred in schools prior to Columbine, I do not think people realized until after this tragic event that these shootings really can happen anywhere.
ReplyDeleteJasmine,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the first chapter talked about so much that, most likely, a lot of people did not know that about the Columbine school shooting. It is fascinating to learn so much more about a time that changed history with school shootings and other types of mass shooting heading into the United States' future. I think that high schools should teach the students so much more about school shootings and mass shootings in general to have a basic understanding of if it happens to their said schools. Though no one should wish a mass school shooting for any school district, it is bound to happen for many schools that think they are untouchable. I thought it was fascinating how they first planned to set off bombs and shoot survivors that came out, but that plan failed. I think a lot of the time, the media and the story is cut short, and their main focus is what just happened and who did it. The survivors and heroes should be recognized that protected others and got them to safety so the shooters would not get them. I 100% agree with you that back then, and even today, no one can ever prepare many schools for something like this. Most of the time, lockdown drills and stay in place exercises are taken as a joke for most people when we should be taking it as seriously as possible as if it is the real thing happening. I also agree that gun laws should be more strict because, in reality, we are not going to be able to eliminate school and mass shootings, but taking the right steps to slow them down is the right move.
Sometimes bad things need to happen so that other bad things can be prevented/stopped. I agree that Columbine was a turning point. Before this attack, there weren't drills like we have today to prepare us for a mass shooting, and although I would never justify this attack or the lives lost, I think Columbine was indeed a learning experience and what we needed to better prepare ourselves for the future. I wonder how Columbine's events would have been different had there been a lockdown plan? It is so sad that I even say that though. It is horrible that we have to teach kindergarteners how to sit on the floor, out of sight, and be silent. It petrifies me for my siblings still in school and my future children! I hate this part of life; the death and tragedy.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I don't think more gun laws would change this though. Yes, I believe we need to enhance background checks and make it harder to obtain weapons for every one, but as we see in many mass shootings, weapons will be obtained if a weapon is longed for. Stealing weapons from parents is a big way school shooters obtain guns, and sadly, gun laws don't affect that.
Overall, great post and thoughts!
Hi Jasmine!
ReplyDeleteA couple of the facts you mentioned stood out to me as well, including the shooters advising a student to leave the premises beforehand. I also agree with you that when people discuss Columbine, they usually disregard the multiple bombs that were set off, as well as the big ones that did not detonate. I think this is an important fact that should be talked about, because should they have gone off, this event would have been extremely catastrophic and the casualties would have been much higher. It goes to show that mass events like this are not just committed through the use of firearms. Your thought of renovating and building new institutions with the intention of preparing for a "what if" situation stands out to me. I completely agree with this! Gun laws should absolutely be more strict, and hopefully, we are on the road to reform and change in this area. Great post!
I definitely agree that there was a lot of facts that people didn't know about this day before reading the chapter. When you hear stories about this on the news they do not give you the full story because they just get the important information out there. For example, before reading the chapter I didn't know that it was supposed to be a bombing and the two shooters were going to shoot students trying to escape. That piece of information is totally disregarded because whenever I have heard people talk about it, that piece of information has never been mentioned. Columbine was definitely a realization for a lot of people because it showed that schools aren't equipped for these type of situations. Which is why today we have all sorts of drills and procedures in place, so if something like this happens again schools will be ready. Gun laws are a big problem still because it is so easy for teenagers to get a gun in this day in age. Laws for this need to be stricter to stop events like this from happening.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I am concerned there were no plans or practice drills set in place. Maybe the school did not have a plan in case of what if situations because they assumed nothing would happen to the school. From elementary to high school, I have been taught what I should do if they are ever a safety issue such as someone entering the school with a firearm or a fire in the science classroom. I believe this mass shooting has been used as an example by other schools in different cities or states to prevent further killings from happening. Today, we have advanced technology and more training that prepares us in case of an emergency.
ReplyDeleteColumbine High School definitely did not seem prepared for a mass shooting nor did they know what exactly to do if one should have taken place. Granted there were calls placed to 911 however; it seemed that it took them a while to get to the High school. That part I didn't quite understand. I think these days schools are taking more measures on being prepared for such situations like this should they happen, although hopefully not.
ReplyDeleteHello Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more with your "What if" statement because no school actually knows whether or not something could truly happen to them like this. Also gun laws in some areas could potentially be stricter however I believe that as people we also need to do a better job monitoring things like this. As it is a lot harder now to obtain any sort of firearm than it was back then. I believe any person that owns a gun should keep tabs on it often that way if anyone were to steal it for a situation like this they could locate it immediately. However I also did not have all of the background knowledge on the event and all of the bombs that they had. I feel when I had heard of or learned about this event in the past it was not done in depth like this chapter and I believe it should be taught in depth at a high school age. I think it could help to prevent future events if kids are aware of certain circumstances and can kind make sure that all of their peers are safe and in a stable set of mind.
Hello Jasmine!
ReplyDeleteyou made a lot of excellent points in your post and it was written out very well! I definitely agree with your "what if" statement that schools should think about to better prepare for the unexpected. Back when I was doing my first year at Cayuga, one of my CJ professors hah talked about this briefly. He stated that for the most part, schools are better equipped and prepared for cases of a fire breaking out in the school instead of a mass shooting. While i do think it is important to be prepared for both situations, the school system deftly doesn't put much emphasis on the dangers of mass shootings I also agree with how we often focus on just the shooting aspect of a mass shooting. Like you, I also wasn't aware that the shooters used IEDs during the shooting or that they planned to use propane bombs to scare the students outside and pick them off as they escape the school.
Hello Jasmine!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! I also learned from the chapter that there were bombs placed in a field 3 miles away along with other bombs within the school and IEDs that the shooters had planned on using. Before reading this chapter I was not aware that any of these were factors within the Columbine shooting, only the shooting itself. I also agree with what you said about how the Columbine shooting showed schools that they are not prepared for situations like this. While I think it is horrible that today young children (as well as the older ones) have to practice active shooter drills, I also think it could save many lives if something should ever happen. It's horrible that today parents worry about whether or not something this horrific could happen in their child's school, but knowing that there are now plans in place could help ease the nerves a bit. There is still more that can be done, but every situation is different and no one can know what to expect.