NEWSDAY COLUMN

Campus shootings raise high school safety issues
By: Kyle Reitan
Published in Newsday February 22, 2008


We committed to memory the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. We remember the Virginia Tech shootings on April 16, 2007, and the killings at Northern Illinois University on Feb. 14. School shootings are unfortunate, but more can be done to keep students safe. Many colleges and universities have been improving their emergency alert systems on campus. Upon the discovery of a threat, instantaneous text messages and e-mails are sent to the student body, faculty and staff. Brilliant. What about high school students, faculty and staff on Long Island?As a senior in high school, I have discovered the true meaning of freedom. I have a senior parking spot and can often leave campus to go home to do homework or grab a bite. It's a relaxing privilege to be able to leave campus during the day. But suppose an armed intruder enters the school during my lunch break while I'm off campus. How would my peers and I know whether it was safe to re-enter the building? Though cellular devices are banned from school, most students still carry them. If students received a message, they would be likely to spread the word quickly and tragedy could be prevented.
At MacArthur High School in Levittown, several students didn't attend school on Feb. 15 because of a threatening note. In November, my school received a similar message, effective a few days later. According to my district's spokesman, attendance that day was down 38 percent. Both schools experienced a heavy police presence on the day the threat was to occur. I can't quite fathom why students wouldn't attend school those days. With the heavy police presence, wouldn't it most likely be the safest day of the school year?