Many high schools across the country are having to suffer through painful and violent events. The lockdown drill was supposed to reassure students on what to do in case of a violent event, but it sadly left students still wondering.

On March 6 our school had a lockdown drill, but was it successful? Students have many different opinions on the most recent lockdown drill and whether or not they are prepared for a violent intruder to come campus.  

Some students felt extremely prepared after the lockdown took place. ¨I think the drill prepared students for emergencies. Especially after the recent shootings, people took it much more seriously than they have in the past¨ said senior Hannah Campbell.

Having the knowledge of knowing what to to in case an intruder does come on campus is crucial due to the tremendous amount of school shootings this past year. What if students are in the bathroom do they stay in or do they go to the nearest classroom? There are many what if situations and students, teachers, and faculty all need to be prepared to handle those scary situations.

Instead of teachers telling students what they might or might not do in a real emergency teachers should be having students practice so we will be more prepared on what to do. “My teacher talked about what we were supposed to do in a real lockdown but it would have been better and more effective if we actually moved the desks so we could be more prepared if something actually happens in the future” said sophomore Sophia Vryonis.  

If both students and teachers know exactly what to do in emergent situations the chance of everyone surviving will increase.

If the threat is not near the classroom that you are in teachers should put a plan of escape in place and should discuss it as group in class. Will students hide in closets or will they escape through windows, plans should be put in place for a safe escape, if needed. Students talk across campus and in classes about how the lockdown drill went and what needs to happen the next time we have one. “I think that we should be practicing lockdown drills in all of our classes instead of just one. This way we will know exactly what to do in all situations” said sophomore Jemma Prichard.

Many school shootings have occurred this past year and all schools can do is to prepare for the worst. Even if it was not successful the effort was there to help students and teachers prepare for what might happen. ¨I’m glad that we had a drill to practice and I think that is all we really can do at this point¨ said junior Whitney Wheeler.  

The lockdown drill should not be a joke or something to practice litely; these drills should be taken seriously and should occur more often than they do now. Schools are required to have one lockdown drill per school year, but will that number increase?

There should be no questions on what to do in those what if situations anymore because the safety of the people on campus should be the top priority.