“Each day 12 children die from gun violence in America. Another 32 are shot and injured,” according to Sandy Hook Promise.
That’s not a small number and it could be intimidating to many of the students of Woodbridge High. Freshman Brian Quinonez shared that “yes” school shootings are something that worries him.
According to the City of Irvine website, “Compared to information released Monday by the FBI, Irvine has the lowest per capita violent crime rate of any city in the nation with a population of 250,000 or more.”
Even though it is unlikely for there to be any danger the staff are trained to be ready to handle any unexpected situations that could occur.
Head of security Jessica Castillo reassured students and said, “You guys should feel 110% safe here on campus….The district makes sure that we are prepared for anything that happens here on campus.”
Even though the school takes extensive measures to ensure the safety of students, many students still have ideas on how the school could improve safety.
Freshman Steve Lee shares his opinion saying “I think we should have more staff going around the place, patrolling and like policing and stuff, making sure people are like, not getting bullied.”
By implementing more staff around campus during breaks and lunch, the school could prevent cases of bullying, which are frequently the cause of school shootings. “There’s also a 49% higher chance that adolescents will carry guns if they were bullied on school property within the previous year compared to peers who weren’t bullied,” according to K-12 Dive. Preventative measures like this wouldn’t be too difficult to implement and could have great benefits.
“From breaking up fistfights between students to disarming assailants to using justified force to prevent violent intruders from harming students or staff, school security professionals have the proper training and certification to de-escalate these and other acts of violence,” says Cardinal Point Security Group.
By implementing more staff into the school grounds we could decrease bullying which would decrease the likelihood of escalation that could lead to a threat to campus safety.
