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February 26, 2014
Don’t go numb averyjones editorinchief
averyjones editorinchief
du’-mmy ( n) amock-up set o f pages (as for newspaper or DUH’meepa’-ges: PAY’ges: pages fora the printer magazine) with the position of text and artwork indicated for the printer
In 1999 when two men walked into Columbine High School and shot and killed 13 people, the country went into a tail spin, mourning the tragedy and the horror of what had happened. This school shooting shocked the entire country. Now, 15 years later, it seems that school violence has become much more frequent and much less shocking. In 2013, 25 school shootings took place. Twentyfive. In the year since the Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting on Dec. 14, 2012, a school shooting has taken place in America every two weeks on average. One shooting every 14 days— that seems like a commonplace occurrence to me. That’s more frequent than a paycheck comes out or than your monthly subscription to Seventeen Magazine arrives. Something that happens every two weeks is no longer an anomaly; it is a pattern. And in America, school violence has become a pattern. Violence has become such an everyday part of school life that people have come to expect it. Though we still mourn when we hear of a shooter entering a school, we’re no longer shocked. It’s as though we are sitting back between incidences just waiting for the next strike to happen. We don’t know where or when it will happen, but one thing is absolutely certain: there will be another. In times of peace—those average 13 days between shootings— we must mourn, move on, and prepare for the next round of violence. This process is wearing! Grief deserves more time than it is given. It is draining, and when it is cut short like this, it tends to linger. Worse yet, though, is when grief lingers because that is when
we go numb. And so it becomes easier to ignore these incidents rather than to try to live in constant grief. For this reason, school violence has become significantly downplayed in America. Of the 16 cases of shootings on school grounds that have already taken place this year—in just two months—how many of us can say that we have heard of each of these incidents? I certainly cannot. Did anyone hear about the two middle schoolers who were shot by a seventh grader in Roswell, New Mexico on January 14? How about the student who fatally shot himself in a classroom at Bend High School in Oregon on February 7? Sure, in these cases the gunman did not kill 13 people; however, is that any reason for the country to be any less shocked by the outright violence of these acts? The loss of life is cause for indignation, no matter if it is hundreds of lives or only one. Understandably, these tragedies are hard to face. But we need to stop turning a blind eye to the violence that is happening in our country at such an alarming rate. Turning away from the problem is not the answer. Ignoring school violence and training ourselves to not feel the shock and pain of it will not make it any less of a horror. We must find a way mourn properly without getting sucked into the downward spiral of despair it is so easy to fall into in times of tragedy. Only by facing these incidences bravely and with the community’s support can we begin to stare unflinchingly into the face of school violence and decipher a plan of action on how to abate cases of school violence.
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PROPS and FLOPS at EHS averyjones editorinchief
FLOPS to the Rus- FLOPS to Colora-
sian government for putto RE-2 ting so much pressure on for giving everyone Val- a 15-year-old skater that entine’s Day off. The she broke down. single kids didn’t have to to Mothbe subjected to the sick- eningly sweet couples, er Nature for supplying and the couples got the a couple superb days of whole day to hold hands sunshine and warmth in and stare into each oth- the middle of the most dreary, cold month. ers’ eyes. Win, win.
PROPS
PROPS
FLOPS
FLOPS
to the seato Flappy Bird for ruining every- son of “Have you gotten one’s life for approxi- your prom dress yet?!” mately one week. to the to the starting of spring sports wrestling program for for giving all of us hope producing 7 state wres- that winter is almost tlers. That’s pretty sweet. over.
PROPS
PROPS
do Confessions for consuming everyone’s lives with hilarious tweets and then disappearing off the face of the earth.
PROPS to Shaun
White for still being the coolest person alive despite not medaling in the Winter Olympics this year.
FLOPS
to the people who complained about getting late starts instead of snow days. I’ll take a morning of sleeping in on a school day any day of the week!
Letter to the editor: Snowdays To whom it may concern, What is the purpose of schooling? Ultimately, it is to prepare a student for the trials and tribulations of the real world, hopefully providing the practical skills and experience to not only overcome to problems, but to thrive in spite of them. To facilitate these ends, a school must be a physical and mental location of safety, so that a student can focus on their work and take the knowledge the teacher intended to give in his or hers lessons. That sentence is ultimately the reason for suspensions, expulsions, and yes, even the infamous “no hats” rule. It is confusing then, that in certain instances, the ruling council of our school seeks to move counter to their sacred duty of student protect and place the student body in harm’s way.
I am currently writing this article on January 31, 2014, the first instance in recent memory that the school, instead of closing its doors, decided to merely push back its start time from 8 to 10. The reasoning for this decision is not public to us, and the reason is ultimately forfeit. However, the result of this decision is what ultimately matters. As I walked through these halls, I encountered much anger at the decision, for the normal reasons. They wanted to sleep in, hang with friends, and possible go skiing in the mountains. But there is another group, those who are fearful. Those who almost flew into the ditch on the way to school or could not stop before they slid into an intersection. By not declaring a snow day, the administrators of this school indi-
rectly placed a significant amount of the student body in danger. If a student were to be hurt today, in these horrible conditions, it would be the administrators fault. A fault that could have easily avoided had a snow day been declared. I hope they remember their responsibility to the safety of their students better in the future. -Matthew Sudduth Because the Red Ink is a public forum, it encourages letters to the editor as a way to promote the free exchange of ideas concerning issues relevant to the student body and Eaton community. All letters to the editor must be signed and should be no more than 300 words. The Red Ink reserves the right to shorten letters or correct for grammar. Letters may be submitted to Eatonredink@ gmail.com or to the editor.