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Crown Point High School @InklingsCPHS December 16 . 2016 Vol. 81 Issue 4
Girls basketball looks to improve to 9-4 on the season
page 13
Hometown movie: “The Things We’ve Seen” features students page 10
ON ALERT
Recent precautions create new safety culture BY JILL KIDDER ALLY REKITZKE
editor-at-large co-associate editor
Alarms are going off. Some students are in the halls or waiting in line for the bathroom, and others are already in their classroom. A small panic washes over the student body. Questions arise in everyone’s minds. Is it a lockdown drill? Is it real? The most important question is: What do I do now? Because of these questions, the Pulse is in the process of filming a safety video that covers what to do in an emergency situation. Junior and senior principal Russ Marcinek got the idea from the East Allen County school district which created a safety video for their high school students. The video has mock emergency situations where the students execute the lockdown drill and talk about what to do in a lockdown scenario. “The purpose is not only to show what to do in an emergency situation, but also generate questions, discussions, feedback, give and take from teachers and students or administration on how to keep people safe in case of an emergency,” Marcinek said. “Different emergency situations such as a classroom lockdown, pulling into our parking lot (while the school is on) lockdown, the cafeteria or hallway, the fieldhouse or gym, or different scenarios that we have would be helpful to cover because people might have questions about them.” The video does not cover environmental drills, but they may be added at a later date. Marcinek stated that he believes teachers are confident in those occasions but not in a lockdown scenario. “I think that in this day and age where you hear about emergency situations like a shooting or something of that nature, there’s always in the back of all our minds, ‘What if that happened here?’” Marcinek said. “We do think that we are prepared, but I think the purpose of the video is
PHOTO BY JILL KIDDER
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Director of security Milan Damjanovic oversees the learning commons security cameras on his laptop while watching visitors enter the building.
(When I was in second grade) we were on lockdown, and I remember that I was with my teacher. We were hiding behind her desk and everything like a real life lockdown drill. It was insane, but (it shows) just how important it is to just relax (and) to see the situation for what it is. Daniel Hadary English teacher to give people more confidence, and urge them to discuss safety scenarios and situations so that we feel more comfortable, and we all ultimately feel more safe.” Senior Hannah Bauner is a Pulse member and participant in the video. She believes that the video will make students more educated in what they are supposed to do during a lockdown. It also helped her realize that in a lockdown scenario, it isn’t just about hiding behind a desk. “I didn’t realize that we had to barricade the doors. I guess I figured that we’d be doing that if there was actually someone. But you’re supposed to stack desks and chairs and barricade the door as much as you can. I think we are doing another one (soon), and it’s going to be in the cafeteria, the gym and if you’re coming in late to school and there’s a lockdown, and what
you do at lunch because there’s no desk to hide behind at lunch,” Bauner said. The video describes lockdown procedures for many hypothetical instances. Marcinek says that he would encourage students to defend themselves with any item in the environment around them because their safety is the important thing in a lockdown situation. He also says to not confront the intruder if they have a weapon unless they breach security and get into the barricaded classroom. “My message here is don’t ever confront someone with a weapon, that’s why we have first responders, that’s why the police would be called, that’s their job,” Marcinek said. “It’s everyone else’s job to remain safe, and that’s what the (drills are) for… But if it was imminent and you could not get around, it was a face to face con-
Students were asked on a Twitter survey;
What is the most effective way to report suspicious behavior?
What is your initial reaction when the school alarms sound?
Do you feel safe at CPHS?
13% Talk to guidance
58% Tell a teacher
33% Follow regular procedure 3% Panic 6% Ask a teacher
25% No
75% Yes
143 responses
17% Contact administrator 12% Anonymous Tipline 133 responses
58% Is it a drill? 118 responses
frontation with someone… do whatever you can to be safe (and) to stay alive… You want to train yourself in case you ever needed to defend yourself, and that will be in the video.” English teacher Daniel Hadary was in a lockdown situation in his South Bend elementary school as a second grade student. A shooter who had previously robbed a bank, held his school hostage for two hours; he eventually gave himself up, and no one was injured. As a second grader, he said that it was creepy. From this experience, Hadary has learned that the key in an emergency situation is to remain calm. “We were on lockdown, and I remember that I was with my teacher. We were hiding behind her desk and everything like a real life lockdown drill. It was insane, but (it shows) just how important it is to just relax (and) to see the situation for what it is. When you’re in that position, you just want to panic and freak out and worry about yourself, (but) just follow the methods you’ve been taught. I know these drills suck, but in reality, that’s going to be useful.” One of Marcinek’s goals is to form a school safety council made up of students and teachers to keep improving the school’s safety. With time, he hopes that the school creates a culture of safety using the input of the community that is given. see safety on page 3
On a scale from 1-4, do you take drills seriously?
39% 1- not serious 39% 2- somewhat serious
19% 3- serious 3% 4- very serious
173 responses