A Year After Parkland, School Safety Questions Still Loom
By Alanna Barrett, Caroline Bell, and Austin Van Luvender
More than one year after the shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the county, state, and country are still divided on how to stop gun violence and prevent mass shootings before they happen.
Last year, Florida lawmakers proposed arming teachers to increase security in schools. This idea sparked intense debate and eventually a decision was made to arm school personnel but not classroom instructors. Now, legislators have reintroduced the plan under an expansion of Senate Bill 7030.
Students at Florida Atlantic University have dissenting opinions about the proposed expansion.
“I think [arming teachers] is a good idea because it makes teachers feel safer knowing that there’s more they can do than just hide their students and lock the door,” said FAU sophomore Stephanie Tieu, who was frightened by the proximity of the shooting to FAU.
Some students, such as FAU freshman Bowman Turner, feel that more should be done before a shooting occurs to help at-risk kids.
“I don’t think arming teachers is necessarily going to stop a shooter,” Turner said. “I think we need to focus on how these people are getting sick. I feel that we failed the shooter as the people of South Florida.”
The proposed bill also calls into question the broader topic of gun control. Jordan Jarnagin, an FAU senior from Kansas, isn’t sure that gun control nor arming teachers are the solutions. “I don’t think taking guns away is going to solve the problem,” Jarnagin said, “but guns in classrooms could easily lead to problems.”
“I don’t think [arming teachers] is going to solve the issue,” said FAU freshman Mariam Ramirez. She added with a dismissive laugh, “that’s honestly ridiculous, and I don’t know who came up with it.”
On this day last year, Ramirez was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas. When the fire alarm went off, Ramirez was on the other side of campus. “Most of the time when the fire alarm went off it was because of something in the culinary room, so we all were joking that there were cookies burning,” Ramirez said.
After evacuating the building, Ramirez described watching her classmates sprint across campus and jump over the fence surrounding the school. “They weren’t running as if it was a joke, they were running like they were scared.”
Ramirez recalled not knowing what was going on until hours later. Students were taken to a Walmart behind the school, where there was almost no cell service because everybody was trying to use their phones.
She overheard a classmate on the phone telling their mom that someone had been shot.
Ramirez described seeing police, SWAT cars and helicopters heading toward the school. “That’s when I first realized that something was seriously wrong.”
Employees at the nearby Bank of America let students use their phones and provided them with water. “That bank is where I heard the name Nikolas Cruz for the first time,” she said. “One of the other students asked me if I knew him and I said no. Then he said, ‘he’s the one who did this.’”
Ramirez believes that the U.S. should be more proactive about solving gun violence. “Universal background checks, FBI databases, ownership exams, banning semi-automatic weapons, and active shooter drills are all things that would help. Mental health is also a factor,” she explained.
On Apr. 23, the Florida Senate voted to allow teachers to carry weapons and serve as classroom guardians. Now the bill goes to the House and needs to be signed by Gov. Ron De Santis before becoming law.
