Reflecting on Santa Clarita: What’s Peralta’s plan?
District safety strategy promotes “Run, Hide, Fight”
By Farhad Golriz, Staff Writer/Photos By Farhad Golriz
The recent shooting at a Santa Clarita high school on Nov. 14 made me reflect on the Peralta Community College District’s preparedness for an event like this.
The school shooting in Santa Clarita, which claimed two young lives, is not the first time our state and our country have seen this kind of tragedy. We have seen similar shootings so many times that it’s heartbreaking. Schools are supposed to be places where students feel safe and get an education.
As a student myself, I am concerned because a tragedy like Santa Clarita could happen to me. To have to worry constantly about possible dangers always makes me check my surroundings; I feel I need to have a plan of how to get away in case something happens.
I am also worried about my cousins, who are in high school, and often think: “Are they safe? Will they come home?” Of course, many Americans are also not safe in movie theatres, concerts, clubs, stores — nowhere seems safe from mass shootings. I worry about all my friends and family of any age. No one should have to worry like this.
In my view, the best way to stop the frequency of these incidents is to strengthen gun regulations.
House Democrats on Feb. 27, 2019, passed two gun legislation bills. The first bill passed with 240 to 190 votes. This bill was to expand the background checks and firearms purchases. The additional bill they passed would make the time period for background checks longer than the three-day law in place as of today.
On the day of the Santa Clarita shooting Democratic Senator Chris Murphy (D) of Connecticut brought a gun legislation bill to the Senate to vote on in which Republican Senator Sindy Hade Smith (R) of Mississippi blocked the vote until a later time. The question is if not now, then when?
We have witnessed too many mass shootings in schools and elsewhere; too many people’s lives have been taken by guns. The National Rifle Association needs to be held to some sort of accountability for the many lives that have been taken by the bullets and firearms they have made and sold.
According to the Washington Post, ever since the school shooting at Columbine High School, more than 233 thousand students have experienced gun violence at school. According to CBS, in 2019 alone there have been 385 shootings in the U.S which is more than one shooting a day on average.
I decided to take a look into Peralta’s preparedness. To find out more, I met with Royl Roberts, Risk and Safety Programs Manager at the Peralta District. He is also interim director of Employee Relations and Diversity Programs.
I sat down with Roberts in the newsroom. He said there is the general protocol taught in an active shooter or active threat training . This training covers different types of scenarios such as a one-on-one attack, an attack with a weapon or a bomb threat. The three words to remember, Roberts said, are to run, hide and fight.
Roberts explained that “run” means to get as far away from the threat as possible. “Hide” means that if you are in the area and can not get away from where a shooting is happening, for example, take cover and try to block the possible entrances while being as quiet as possible.
Lastly, there’s “fight”.
“In the worst-case scenario, you fight. We know people aren’t trained fighters in most cases, but using whatever you have around you that may disable an active shooter. One of the top things to use basically is a fire extinguisher because it immobilizes the threat,” Roberts said.
When I asked him about how long it takes for authorities to arrive on the scene, he said law enforcement response time should be “within two to three minutes.”
At the end of our interview, we walked around looking for the emergency flip chart that should usually be found in most buildings in the district. The flipcharts detail what the emergency response is for events ranging from earthquakes to other natural disasters. We had some trouble locating the emergency procedures flip chart — there wasn’t one in the newsroom — but when we walked to neighboring building G235, we did find two flip charts that not only covered active threat but also an active shooter situation as well as all emergency protocol. The full emergency preparedness plan was posted on a bulletin board and partially obscured by another poster.
Roberts also discussed the preparedness trainings conducted by the district. He expressed concern at the low number of attendees and he wants to figure out how to spread the word to the community, especially students.
Since May 2018, the district has hosted seven active shooter trainings. “If people ask for training, we can get the trainers out here,” he said it is often a matter of finding the right time for people to attend.
We shouldn’t wait until another tragic incident occurs to strategize and plan as a community. I hope we all not only become aware of Peralta’s plan, but we ultimately urge those in power to take this matter seriously and find a bipartisan solution.
