We have all heard the phrase, “be aware of your surroundings,” but just a short while ago West Fargo High had an intruder inside the school for 11 minutes 38 seconds before anyone was aware of his presence.
Multiple students potentially brushed arms with this intruder, and while the man was sent in by the police as a drill, the intrusion obviously shows there are flaws in the system.
The school has to get more up-to-date in order to protect the people on the inside. The school has a security system and a security guard to patrol the front doors while they are unlocked and while that is great, it is not enough. We, as students, are promised a safe learning environment and are told that the security in the building is tight.
If this intruder had, in fact, entered the building with criminal intent, a catastrophe would have happened that would have harmed fellow students and faculty.
The devastating story in Fairmount, North Dakota of the boy who shot himself during his first period is proof that an intruder in the building does not even have to be an outsider.
Some schools rely on their students, faculty and staff to bring up any suspicious behavior and we need to follow their example. Other schools have students volunteer on their off periods to be Hall Monitors and make sure that the people in the building are those who are supposed to be there.
The school has been practicing more fire drills, but officials alert students that it is only a drill. Once students know this, it is nothing but talking in the halls and slowly making the way out of the building. It is not a true definition of what to do during a drill. Students need to perform these drills and treat them like they are real.
The school takes good care of its students by locking the front doors, but with this intruder in the building, changes have to be made to protect the school and everyone in it. Locking the front doors during the school days are not enough anymore to protect students and faculty. The intruder could get in the back doors when janitors open them or when a student opens the front door to “help” someone out.
The police department performing a controlled intrusion was just what this school needs before anything caused havoc. Even if it is a simple Hall Monitor, we cannot be too careful. Bottom line, watch out for suspicious behavior.
With updates to the system eminent, students need to work with the school in order to for this to work. Safety has to be the top priority even if at first the new system is inconvenient.