The Highlander Special Edition

This issue of The Highlander is a special edition paper in response to gun violence in the U.S. that has become more prominent in the past few months. We will be covering both conservative and liberal sides of the Second Amendment, but at the same time sharing our concerns and student perspectives on the situation. Each article was written out of passion and does contain bias due to our perspective as students and our geographical location. However, our purpose in producing this special edition paper is to both share our thoughts on the fear that has risen among students, and to also keep this movement alive. We want the protests to affect change in our society, and we will not let the topic get

The Highlander

ignored by politicians. It’s no longer a political argument in our eyes; there needs to be a change in order to provide a safe and comfortable learning environment everywhere.

March 2018 SPECIAL EDITION

Carlmont High School — Belmont, California

www.scotscoop.com

@scotscoopnews

American youth lead fight for change

Mona Murhamer ScotLight Editor-in-Chief

Twenty-seven.

In 2018, as of March 8, there have been 27 instances where a firearm was used in a school setting in a violent manner, according to Everytown For Gun Safety.

Of the 27, 15 resulted in injuries or death.

Of the 27, 26 were mourned with hashtags and Twitter trends begging Congress for change.

Those 27 instances elicited groans of “Not again” and “How many is that this year?”

And then those 27 were swept under the rug for politicians to deal with another day.

But not number 17.

On Feb. 14, Nikolas Cruz entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in

Parkland, Fla. with an AR-15 (a semi-automatic rifle) and killed 17 students and staff members, marking the 17th armed incident on a school campus for 2018.

What followed was to be expected: #PrayForParkland, #MSDStrong, #NeverAgain.

But then, the unexpected – students weren’t satisfied.

This time, students are refusing to let Congress appease them with empty promises of gun reform and rehearsed statements about how their thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families.

We are tired of text messages from endangered friends hidden in barricaded classroom closets and relatives marking themselves safe on Facebook – and we are letting it be known.

This time, it’s different.

This time, we’re not stopping

until we make a noticeable change.

Activists like Stoneman Douglas’ Emma González, a senior, are not letting the protests die down because something needs to be done this time.

At CNN town hall on Feb. 21, González confronted National Rifle Association (NRA) spokesperson Dana Loesch, asking her if she believes semiautomatic weapons should be more difficult to obtain, to which Loesch responded with wishywashy remarks calling Cruz “crazy” and “nuts.”

González, not pleased with the change in subject, refocused Loesch on the question at hand and still received a less-thansatisfactory answer along the lines of “the NRA does not support ‘crazy’ people.”

Despite dodging questions, the

Stoneman Douglas students did not back down. Cameron Kasky, a junior, even asked Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) if he would turn down monetary support from the NRA. Because of these students, there will be a tangible change.

In fact, since Parkland, five steps have been taken towards a safer school system, according to news organization The Cut. 1. Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods have made it so that customers must be at least 21 to purchase a gun. The two have also changed policies surrounding semi-automatic rifles.

2. A number of major companies have severed their ties with the NRA. 3. President Trump directed the Department of Justice to issue a ban on bump stocks, a device that makes it easier and quicker

Cath Lei

to fire.

4. Some states have proposed tighter legislation surrounding gun-control laws.

5. Support for gun-control groups, like Everytown for Gun Safety, has greatly increased, both in volunteers and donations.

Students around the country have also seized this opportunity to organize multiple walkouts, the most popular being March 24’s “March For Our Lives.”

Carlmont students participated in a school-wide walkout on March 14 where they wrote letters to Congress, pre-registered to vote, and stood up for their peers.

This time, our voices will be heard louder than they ever have been before.

This time, we will not back down until a change is made.

This time, we are saying #NeverAgain.

Thanks to the Carlmont PTSA for their generous support and for funding this ad-free special edition of The Highlander.

Jordan Hanlon

FEATURES

2

March 2018 Special Edition

Kylie Lin

Younger generations take up arms Kaylee George Staff Writer “Three-year-old boy shoots himself in the face after finding gun in grandmother’s purse.”

“Five-year-old girl fatally shoots brother with loaded rifle left in family room.”

“Inside the mind of a 14-year-old school shooter: a plot to kill 50 or 60 students, if lucky.”

“Sixth-grade girl arrested after threatening to bring a gun to school to kill students.”

Yes, these are real stories.

Guns have become increasingly normalized, being widely seen in the media, games, and our communities.

Due to their prevalence, guns have specifically captured the attention of one of our most impressionable generations: youth. Kids are now possessing an innate attraction towards guns—a fascination that may leave children vulnerable to the real dangers of guns.

With increasingly easy access to guns, more and more stories are emerging that include children shooting themselves or others around them, as well as children being exposed to gun violence. A study in the journal Pediatrics found that an average of 1,297 children die annually from gun-related injuries, making guns the third-leading cause of death for children in America.

As part of a hidden-camera ABCNEWS experiment, reporters captured the reactions of kids who have been taught gun safety, such as 15-year-old Anthony Galella, who said if he ever came across a gun, he would “call the

cops and tell them.”

Yet when Galella came across the disabled and placed gun at a YMCA New York, he picked up then put back the gun nine times. Instead of calling someone, he ended up stashing the weapon out of sight, to help him resist picking it up again.

“Something in my head was just telling me to touch it and play with it,” he said, according to ABCNEWS. This experiment also extended to kids in an elementary school, who had been taught gun safety by police just days before and had been reminded of their lessons daily through a collective chant. However, when two kids found two guns in their toy dinosaur bin, they started to look down the barrel and pretend shoot things around the classroom.

Even activities such as laser tag or paintball promote the idea that targeting other human beings is pleasurable — and the person who does this most successfully is “the winner.”

In an Offspring article, writer Michelle Woo explored the thought-processes of kids when presented with guns, specifically from the perspective of a parent.

“Kids make guns out of crackers, toast, their fingers,” said Sylvia, the director of Woo’s daughter’s preschool.

“They’re a prop for dramatic play. These kids are exploring issues of power because they’re at an age when they realize they don’t have any. People tell them when to go to bed, when to get up, when to go to school. They’re trying to figure out ‘What power do I have?’”

Several studies have demonstrated that teenagers who play violent video games are more likely to engage in ag-

gressive behavior and violence than are children who play nonviolent video games.

Gun companies are now pouring millions of dollars into advertising and appealing to younger generations.

In 2013, part of the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual convention “Youth Day” was hosted, enticing youngsters to attend by offering free six-month memberships to the NRA. The event drew hundreds, including kids too young to know the difference between a toy gun and a real one.

Junior Shooters, a gun industry-supported magazine that aims to involve children in the recreational use of firearms, featured a smiling 15-year-old girl clutching a semiautomatic rifle. To conclude the accompanying article that extolled target shooting with a Bushmaster AR-15, youngsters were urged to share their readings with a parent.

“Who knows?” it read. “Maybe you’ll find a Bushmaster AR-15 under your tree some frosty Christmas morning!”

While guns may seem appealing, kids need to be taught the dangers of real guns as opposed to the toy guns that they use in fictional play.

“I hope that most kids would know the big difference between the two and what a big impact a real gun can make, but they still need to be taught the difference. It can’t be assumed that they know,” said Samantha Phan, whose family has a tradition of playing with Nerf guns.

Although experimenting with guns is a natural part of child development, there are some important boundaries that must be drawn and gun safety needs to be encouraged.

Guns could prove fatal if children don’t learn to distinguish between the real world and their play world.

Substitutes lack emergency preparation Brooke Chang Scot Scoop Editor-in-Chief

“Attention, teachers. Please shelter in place. I repeat, shelter in place.”

This phrase plays over the loudspeakers, and immediately, her heart starts to race.

Unsure of what is actually happening, she assumes the worst.

Images of Parkland, Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, Orlando, and Sandy Hook fill her mind as she wonders if she’ll be in the next batch of victims that receive endless thoughts and prayers.

As her mind spirals, she looks to the teacher for direction.

The teacher, a substitute, looks back at her with just as much fear and just as much confusion.

“There is no official emergency situation training for substitutes,” said Ann Sbardel-

lati, a frequent substitute teacher for Carlmont.

As replacements for teachers unable to attend school, substitutes are given the large responsibility of keeping students safe. However, permanent teachers receive pamphlets with clear directions for what to do in emergencies and go through drills to prepare for the possibility of an emergency happening. Substitutes do not have any of this unless a drill is planned for the day that they are in the classroom.

“We are notified if there is a drill and are given a summary of what to do for that day. On normal days, the school gives you a binder or a packet of administration and department contact information, a school map, and some guidelines on emergencies.

I am not sure how many people have read these packets while or before subbing,” Sbardellati said.

December 1791 Bill of Rights ratified, putting the Second Amendment into effect: “to keep and bear arms” November 1871 National Rifle Association (NRA) founded by William Church and George Wingate in New York

Many experienced substitutes believe that they, as well as their peers who are newer to the job, should be more prepared for emergencies.

Aaron Oka, another frequent substitute for Carlmont, said, “There should be some kind of first-aid and emergency training that specifically pertains to schools, which all subs should be provided with. Some substitute teachers, especially the newer ones, are unfamiliar with what to do in certain circumstances. There should be a basic sheet for every school that clearly explains to the substitutes or instructional aids how their door locks are set up and what to do in the event of a school lockdown.”

Without properly preparing substitutes for emergencies, the school system is betting and hoping that the day a substitute is there will be like most days — a normal day with no major emergencies. For

May 1927 Bomb planted inside Michigan school; 45 dead (38 students); perpetrator age 55

schools like Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that was not the case, and substitutes around the nation need to be prepared for situations like these.

Cate Armstrong, a senior, said, “Because mass shootings are popping up so frequently, it is really important to train substitutes on how to respond and keep everyone safe. The main priority in these emergency situations is keeping people safe, and the more adults that are trained in this area, the safer everyone is. Although it’s really scary to think about the possibility of something like this happening at Carlmont, it’s better to take precautions because you never know what’s going to happen. The money and time spent on training is such a little cost compared to the lives that could be saved.”

June 1938 Federal Firearms Act passed; required a licence for gun manufacturers, importers, and dealers to obtain a federal firearms

June 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA) passed under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal; the first national gun control legislation passed

FEATURES

March 2018 Special Edition

3

The truth behind mental illness and gun violence Sam Hanlon Staff Writer

Mona Murhamer

NRA shoots holes in arms control Francesca D’Urzo Staff Writer

The National Rifle Association (NRA) is an American organization that claims to be the defender of American citizens’ Second Amendment rights. But at what cost?

According to BBC News, the cost is $250 million.

The NRA spends an average of $250 million to fund gun ranges and supposedly educational gun programs to advocate for gun rights.

However, this gun group funds more than just activities for assault-weapon enthusiasts. They also fund the silence and support of countless avaricious politicians through a bribery tactic known as lobbying.

According to OpenSecrets, a site that tracks money involved in political affairs, the NRA spent over $5,122,000 in 2017 on government lobbying alone.

The NRA’s lengthy lobbyist track record provokes the question of whether or not government officials are being held hostage by the industry lobbyists, resulting in the overwhelming shift of government opinion surrounding gun control throughout the years.

Lobbying could have potentially had an effect on the outcomes of some of the most prominent gun control court cases in America.

In the 2008 District of Columbia (D.C.) vs. Heller case, Dick Anthony Heller challenged D.C.’s prohibition on handguns being used in the home.

Heller claimed that the law violated his Second Amendment rights, and when brought to court the Supreme Court ruled in his favor in a 5-4 justice decision, proclaiming it was an unconstitutional ban on D.C.’s part.

According to OpenSecrets, the NRA had a spike in 2007 and 2008 government lobbying rates around the same time as the D.C. vs. Heller court case.

The NRA spent $1,665,000 in 2008 government and court lobbying, compared to gun control advocate groups’ attempted funding of $150,000.

It is no surprise that the NRA would want to up the ante when it comes to court lobbying in order to further promote their gun rights advocacy.

The drastic difference between gun control activist funds and NRA lobbying only furthers the belief that NRA

July 1943 The first AK-57 rifles used in World War II

lobbying plays an overwhelming and powerful role in the government’s hesitancy towards stricter gun control throughout the years.

Another example of the NRA’s lobbying power is their response to the wide array of mass shootings in America in 2017 alone.

The year of 2017 has been deemed the deadliest year for mass shootings in modern American history with a total of 346 mass shootings.

Some of the 2017 mass shootings include the Las Vegas Strip massacre at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, the Cincinnati Cameo nightclub shooting, the First Baptist Church attack in Texas, and countless others.

Once again, according to OpenSecrets, there was the largest spike in NRA government lobbying history with over $5,122,000 spent in 2017.

It is no surprise that the beliefs of the NRA would be threatened by the abundance of mass shootings and that the gun group would feel the need to lobby at their fullest potential.

After being questioned about the reality of NRA political lobbying, NRA Spokeswoman Dana Loesch said, “NRA isn’t a lobby group. It’s a fellowship organization of gun owners [...] [the] overwhelming majority of NRA’s budget is spent on safety and training.”

While the NRA has spent almost $250 million on gun rights programs, it does not compensate for the NRA’s lengthy track record of government lobbying throughout the years.

According to CNN and OpenSecrets, the NRA has lobbied over $46 million between 1998 and 2017 and have personally lobbied eight lawmakers with over $1 million each annually.

Loesch claiming that the NRA is not a lobby group is like McDonald’s claiming it is not a fast food chain.

McDonald’s can disclaim that their brand is a fast food franchise, but at the end of the day they still sell fast food.

The NRA can continue to advocate for gun rights and claim that they are solely a group of gun owners with no lobbying intentions.

However, this will never change their lobbyist track record and the fact that their political involvement is one of the largest factors in the prevention of stricter gun control in America.

September 1949 Camden, N.J.; Camden’s 32nd Street; 13 dead; guman age 28

May 1939 U.S. v. Miller; U.S. Supreme Court ruled through the NFA the government could regulate interstate selling of shotguns

One of the most common misconception about gun violence: “People with mental illnesses are more likely to be perpetrators than victims.”

Yet according to PsychiatryOnline, mass shootings by people with mental illnesses represent less than one percent of of all yearly gun-related homicides.

President Donald Trump said, “I don’t want mentally ill people to be having guns.”

However, making sure that mentally ill people don’t have guns is unlikely to significantly change gun violence statistics in the United States.

According to PsychiatryOnline, only three percent of people who commit violent crimes have a serious mental illness. An even smaller percentage include the usage of a firearm.

A 2015 analysis done by Dylan Matthews, a physiatrist, showed that only 52 out of 235 mass shooters had a mental illness. That is only 22 percent of mass shooters. Which means 78 percent are mentally sound.

When criminals plead mentally ill, they know that if a ruling in their favor mentally unstable they could avoid imprisonment.

According to the JRank Psychology Encyclopedia, this insanity defense allows a mentally ill person to avoid being sent to prison for a crime due to the belief that they can’t decipher right from wrong.

The insanity defense is very rarely used at 85 percent of the cases. Pleading mentally ill is also a very hard plea to back up.

Unfortunately for Nikolas Cruz, the shooter of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school, acting on anger does not legally count you as mentally insane. Cruz was expelled from Majority Stoneman Douglas High School, so naturally that would cause anger.

Cruz’s attorney released a comment to the media about the sensitivity to the remorse the community is feeling.

If Cruz did feel remorse, it shows that he knows exactly what he did and that it was wrong unlike someone who is mentally unstable and wouldn’t be able to tell right from wrong.

But, this could turn into a problem for Cruz. A prosecutor on this case could take this statement and use it to prove that Cruz was expressing remorse, proving that he knew exactly what he was doing, throwing the “mentally ill” defense out of play.

Cruz has a history of violent behavior. School officials said, “He is fascinated by the use of guns and the importance of ‘having weapons to maintain safety in this world.’”

Concerns about Cruz started as early as nine years-old.

He was getting in fights, killing small animals, and was enthusiastic about guns and knives.

Some say these are “warning signs” that people missed.

However, it can be difficult to predict someone else’s actions whether they are mentally ill or not.

Although Cruz’s attorney hasn’t plead mentally ill and probably won’t due to its low usage percentage and the fact that it’s very difficult to back up.

There is little evidence to prove that a person with a mental illness is more likely to commit a crime than someone who is mentally stable.

So why do people assume a mass shooter or other gun related criminals have mental illnesses?

When in reality, people with mental illnesses who commit gun related (murder, mass shootings etc.) crimes is around 4 percent.

October 1968 Gun Control Act of 1968 passed; banned importing guns with no “sporting purpose,” rose handgun purchasing age to 21, and prohibited felons and mentally ill citizens from purchasing guns August 1966 Austin, Texas; University of Texas; 16 dead, 31 injured; guman age 25 (former U.S. Marine)

FEATURES

4

March 2018 Special Edition

Weapon legislation varies around the world The United States

cific situations, such as hunting. However, the U.K.’s restrictions on shotguns are more flexible because they are often used in rural settings for protecting livestock.

According to BBC News, England and Wales have about 138,728 people certified to possess firearms. Scotland has an estimated 26,072 certified civilians. Not only are gun holders scarce, but their privileges can be revoked — between 2008 and 2009, 1,300 certificates were invalidated.

Joseph Gomez Staff Writer Founded on the legacy of an armed revolution, the United States has a unique stance on guns. In 1791, the Second Amendment granted citizens the right to arm themselves.

The accessibility of guns has a noticeable impact on American crime. According to the FBI, “Firearms were used in 71.5 percent of the nation’s murders, 40.8 percent of robberies, and 24.2 percent of aggravated assaults.”

Getting rid of guns does not solve every problem. The United Kingdomhas stricter laws, for example and experienced 601 attacks involving acid or other corrosive substances in 2016.

It’s up to each U.S. state to decide how citizens are able to exercise their right.

Texas is known for its lenient gun laws; no permit or license is necessary.

California is far more complex with additional regulations on “assault weapons,” firearms that are considered more threatening.

According to The Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Texas was reported in having 3,203 firearm deaths in 2015, whereas California had 3,095.

Even in countries with exceptions to the rule, guns are, and will probably always be a subject of debate in the United States.

Switzerland

Sarah Cheung Staff Writer Switzerland embraces the possession of guns. According to Time magazine, there is an estimated 4.3 million guns in circulation among eight million Swiss; yet there are about a 10th of the amount of homicides committed as in the United States.

Levels of comfort with guns are higher in Switzerland largely because sharpshoot-

Japan Ben Balster Staff Writer

Mandy Hitchcock

ing is taught at a young age. Peter Squires, who has studied international gun violence, describes this as a “culture of support” rather than a focus on individualism.

This fosters a sense of social responsibility with weapons passed through generations.

Furthermore, casual gun ownership is a part of Switzerland’s national identity. During World War II, nearly all civilians carried guns and were trained to use them in case of an invasion.

Due to a gun incident in 2001, the gun law was changed, allowing only those 18 years and older with a permit, a clear criminal record, and no history of mental illness to purchase up to three authorized weapons.

Still, guns are a less menacing threat in Swiss society due to the integration of responsible weapon use into their lives.

The United Kingdom Sarah Cheung Staff Writer In the United Kingdom, to bear arms is not a given right; instead, civilians must go through an arduous process to prove they are not a danger to society. Rather than assuming, the government requires that they provide compelling reasons in an application.

Furthermore, the applicant is searched for any evidence of substance abuse and must have a guarded location for the weapon. This is all in the government’s attempt to inhibit just anyone from owning weapons simply out of desire.

Firearms are especially tough to obtain because they are only authorized for spe-

The Japanese Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law of 1958 begins with the phrase, “Except under one of the following conditions, no person shall possess any firearm or sword.”

Japan’s strict gun regulation dates back to the end of the Sengoku period during the 17th century.

The shogun at the time instituted a ban on civilian possession of swords and firearms.

These regulations were continued into the early 18th century.

The 20th century saw revisions to weapon regulation, and after World War II, the Allied powers essentially disarmed Japan.

In the 21st century, the number of gunrelated deaths has remained below 100 annually, with recent years seeing between five and 50.

In other Asian countries, a tenuous political climate demands a substantial military stockpile.

South Korea and Taiwan are two of the top importers of American-produced firearms.

These countries and others see low rates of gun violence.

Punishment for trafficking, selling, or discharging a gun in Asia varies from a jail and a fine to death.

With these laws, civilians in Asia have lower crime rates.

American film industry is gun reform’s silent killer Victoria Valle Remond Staff Writer

The Red Sea parts, revealing a warrior who raises his sword, primed for the kill.

Our reliable hero wipes the sweat from his brow. Exasperated, our hero rolls his eyes, pulls out his gun, and shoots the warrior point-blank.

The crowd gasps. The man falls. Our hero walks away.

This scene from Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is considered one of the most iconic in history. It also is a perfect example of the issues that arise in film when it comes to the gun debate.

It is not the violence in films that cause violent crimes but the message that is portrayed.

The issue is not the presence of violence but its beautification.

Being one of the most essential parts of our society, film has been intertwined with American gun culture for years.

Charlton Heston, president of the NRA from 1998 to 2003, was best known as one of Hollywood’s greatest leading men.

January 1976 Fullerton, Calif.; Fullerton State University; custodian shot and killed 7 people, 2 injured; gunman age 37 January 1979 San Diego, Calif; Grover Clevland Elementary School; 2 dead 9 injured; gunwoman age 16

His roles in “The Ten Commandments,” “Ben-Hur,” and “Planet of the Apes” cemented him as a movie legend, while his activism for the Republican party established him as a notorious political figure.

In 1903, “The Great Train Robbery” made history by becoming the first film to have a gun sequence. A pistol is pointed and discharged into the screen in a puff of smoke.

Michael Moore’s 2002 Academy Award-winning documentary, “Bowling for Columbine,” is an example of a film with heavy impact on people and the proliferation of gun culture.

Establishing film as an influential social factor allows for the examination of its close ties with gun culture in America, but the issue still remains.

The problem with the way gun culture is portrayed in film is the attitude that “guns are only bad in certain hands.”

Both sides have guns.

And when the good guys are shown to be better at using the guns, it says, “Gun violence is okay, as long as the good guys are doing it.”

This could potentially be a small, insignificant side effect.

After all, the appeal of movies comes from the extraor-

May 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act prohibited registry of dealer records September 1982 Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; prison guard kills 13 people; 5 were his own children

dinary, pushing boundaries, breaking rules, and destroying conventions.

Viewers should be able to separate reality and art, right?

Although we consciously distinguish between fact and fiction, cinema, being integral to society, quietly represents a moral compass.

We look to the film industry to distinguish the good and the bad. We are children of “Heroes vs. Villans.”

When the film industry puts guns in the hands of the heroes, it says, “The person that you are rooting for is making the right choices.”

When a tremendously significant aspect of pop culture justifies gun violence, we cannot expect or demand real change.

If our mindset does not change, neither can we. If our values do not change, neither can we.

If children grow up watching super heroes save the world with automatic weapons, they will not separate fact from fiction.

If our favorite films show us that the answer to everything comes from gun violence, then the normalization of gun culture will continue.

If the film industry can’t evolve, neither can we.

August 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act prohibited registry of dealer records October 1991 Killeen, Texas; local cafeteria at a restaurant; 24 dead; gunman age 35

OPINION

March 2018 Special Edition

First person

5

: Causing a lockdown

Emma Romanowsky Staff Writer

Eight days after the Parkland shooting, I sent a high school into lockdown.

In light of the 20 school shootings that happened in 2018 as of March 8, and the countless calls to action for better school security, it seems unwise to enter a high school unapproved. But I did.

At 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 22, nobody at Walter Johnson Public High School in Bethesda, Md. knew who I was. By 10 a.m., everybody did.

Over mid-winter break, I visited my friend Annie Smith* on the east coast. Smith did not have a vacation, so in order to spend time with her, I decided to go to school with her for a day. When I first arrived, Smith took me to the attendance office to confirm that I was allowed to be on campus; I was not.

We decided that I could stay anyway and would only leave if there was a legitimate problem. We made our way to first period.

Walter Johnson is a completely indoor campus — a big shift from the sprawling Carlmont campus. With only

one building to host over 2,400 students, the long, narrow halls with low ceilings were congested with students. The crowded halls were loud with indifference. Nobody seemed to notice me or the fact that I didn’t have a backpack or anything that would suggest that I was a student.

I never thought that I would miss the feeling of being trapped in a building full of strangers, but two hours later, when the school was eerily empty, I longed for that feeling of anonymity.

It all started in first period. Smith introduced me to her teacher as a shadow. Annoyed that she didn’t receive notice of my visit, the teacher sat me in the back of the room.

It may have been the recent events in the media, but my mind couldn’t help but wander to a dark place where I thought about how easy it would be to pull out a gun and begin shooting.

The bell’s ring snapped me back into reality. Smith’s phone buzzed with an email notification. My stomach sank as she read the message out loud.

I should have left then.

At the beginning of second period, I expected to find my seat in the back of the room. Before I could, I was met by the suspicious gaze of Smith’s band teacher. He ushered me outside of the classroom and stood in front of the door,

blocking my path back in. He never took his eyes off of me. In an even tone, he told me that I was not welcome on campus. Embarrassed, I looked up at him. He softened and explained why I needed to leave. He was sure that I was a good person but, for school safety purposes, I needed to be approved by the administration.

I nodded.

His voice hardened. Until I left, the school would go into lockdown procedures.

We complied. Walking towards the main office through the cavernous, deserted halls, an unpleasant stillness filled the air. We walked through the still, quiet halls and found the exit that had been unlocked for us to leave.

Still, I had been on campus for two hours.

Nicholas Cruz was on campus for 10 minutes and killed 17.

In hindsight, I respect the school’s decision. While I may have been angry that I couldn’t spend time with my friend, I understood why they removed me. Given the prominence of recent events involving school violence, the teacher was smart enough to report me.

This is a step in the right direction towards better school security. But there is still a long way to go. *Name has been changed to protect privacy

Define ‘assault’ to understand gun debate Kimberly Mitchell Staff Writer

With the sound of the fire alarm ringing in their ears, the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School began to evacuate.

Students followed the procedure that had been drilled into their minds since the beginning of the year. Except this time it wasn’t a drill. Instead of running from flames, the students were facing gunfire as 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz aimed his AR-15 at his former classmates.

With the death of 14 students and three faculty members, gun-reformers nationwide have demanded that lawmakers pass stricter gun regulation, initiating a wave of heated gun debates.

Despite the ubiquity of the term “assault rifle,” Americans are not always the most informed when it comes to what it mean

and the laws surrounding it. automatic and fully automatic weapons is Part of the reason why it’s so difficult to arbitrary and weapons such as the AR-15 have a conversation about guns is that as are highly dangerous. of now, there no legal definitions of an “asCo-owner of the Coyote Parks Arsault weapon” in mory, John Parthe U.S. kin, said that “In the semiautomatic mode ... while the appearThe traditional definition of an instead of on ‘burst’ or automatic ance of semi-auassault weapon is tomatic weapons in almost all shooting situations. may resemble one that is fully automatic, such The weapons are more accurate military weapas the military’s ons, “they don’t this way, and thus more lethal.” even come close M-16, which will fire continuously to functioning C. J. Chivers so long as the like what a soltrigger is pulled. dier would use in The New York Times S emi-automatic a time of war.” rifles, fire one bulWhile the Nalet each time the trigger is pulled, and the tional Rifle Association and other gun next is automatically loaded into the firing activists emphasize the fully automatic chamber. feature in military rifles, the technical difHowever, this distinction between semi- ferences between the military’s M-16 rifles

and a civilian AR-15 in American combat are less significant than they may seem.

According to the New York Times, “The American military [...] decided by the 1980s to issue M-16s, and later M4st… in the semi-automatic-mode — one bullet per trigger pull — instead of on automatic in almost all shooting situations. The weapons are more accurate this way, and thus more lethal.”

So in reality, while the AR-15 may not technically be an “assault rifle,” both the Parkland and Sandy Hook shooters had equivalent firepower to an American “grunt” using a standard infantry rifle allowing them to take the lives of innocent Americans with just the pull of a trigger.

In the case of a semi-automatic weapon one pull may mean one shot, but in the hands of people like Nikolas Cruz, Adam Lanza, or Stephen Paddock, one gun means the death of 17, 28, or 58 lives.

Silenced conservatives voice their opinions on gun control Veronica Roseborough Staff Writer

Seventeen lives were taken by a man with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a mission.

Nineteen-year-old Nicolas Cruz carried out his massacre on Feb. 14 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. There is no doubt that the tragedy has sparked a nationwide debate, all because his weapon of choice was purchased legally.

People living in the Bay Area, a primarily Democratic community, tend to be susceptible to liberal viewpoints.

After the shooting many Democrats are calling for a complete ban on assault weapons. However, it is necessary to take into account conservative perspectives.

The general consensus? Something needs to change.

Conservative Alec Grogan-Crane, a senior, believes that although no system would work perfectly, more in-depth background checks would be a step in the right direction.

April 1999 April 1999: Columbine, Colo.; Columbine High School; 15 dead; gunmen both age 18 April 2007 Blacksburg, Va.; Virginia Tech, 32 dead; many injured; gunman age 23, a senior, killed himself

“I think it’s important to create a better background check system that takes into account your criminal background, mental health, and other common factors,” Grogan-Crane said. “Once you have completed the background check, however, there should be little restriction on what you can and can’t get.”

Many Republicans share the opinion that the Second Amendment defends the rights of gun owners.

“Without a doubt, the Second Amendment is very broad,” Grogan-Crane said. “I understand that regulation is important. But the amendments are there for a reason, and the overarching concept needs to be preserved.”

The Second Amendment, while adopted in the 1700s, has been subject to change over time; in recent weeks, President Trump proposed an idea to arm teachers.

Jordan Brandenburg, a senior, said, “The one thing that spoke to me was putting officers at school with guns to protect the people.”

“Schools shouldn’t be a place we fear going,” GroganCrane said, also agreeing with President Trump. “The only

April 2009 Binghamton, N.Y.; immigration center; 13 dead; gunman age 42 November 2009 Killeen Texas; Fort Hood; 13 dead; gunman age 47, a military psychiatrist

way I can see myself truly feeling safe in school is if we were to arm the staff. As ridiculous as it may sound, if one of the teachers had a gun, the Parkland shooting could have been over much earlier.”

The idea of banning assault weapons has also sparked controversy, even within the Republican Party.

“I’m horrified that young people are being killed with these assault rifles [...] I would be for banning [them],” said Darlene Blake, a conservative Republican from southern California.

However, other conservatives such as freshman Sam Johnson* disagree with this idea: “I don’t think you can take guns away from everybody, like in elementary school when one kid won’t stop talking, the teacher doesn’t prohibit the rest of the class from going to lunch.”

No one, whether a Republican or a Democrat, wants to watch innocent people die. The only disagreement is how the U.S. can achieve that goal. *This name has been changed to protect the anonymity of the source.

October 2011 Seal Beach, Calif.; local salon; 8 dead; gunman age 42 April 2012 Killeen, Texas; local cafeteria at a restaurant; 24 dead; gunman age 35

OPINION

6

March 2018 Special Edition

Defense ignores root of the problem Skylar Weiss Staff Writer

Imagine the classroom of a public elementary school five years from now.

In the corner is the fire alarm and the First Aid kit is in the cabinet.

Oh, and there is a fully-loaded pistol in the teacher’s desk.

Not even two months into the year, the Parkland shooting was the eighth to occur in 2018.

The majority of Americans now agree that our nation needs to take action; NBC News stated that an all-time high of 66 percent of Americans support the idea of increased gun control.

But, our nation has been unable to agree

on what gun control really translates to.

To some Americans, the solution may include tougher background checks, as well as arming school teachers with guns.

Placing killing devices in classrooms of children should feel bizarre for a nation that mourns the seemingly cyclic deaths of victims shot at gunpoint. By incorporating guns into the everyday environments where our children grow and learn, they may lose the sense of caution that many Americans currently associate with firearms.

In addition, if the United States arms teachers, efforts to protect innocent Americans could be interpreted as violent, allowing potential shooters to keep believing that firearms really can solve their problems.

There is, however, one important advantage to arming teachers that even liberals

should admit to: doing so could physically intimidate potential school shooters.

That being said, although arming teachers could provide innocent people physical support in times of a shooting, collaborative efforts and studies are indicating that doing so will not make school environments significantly safer.

About 200 universities, national education and mental health groups, school districts, and more than 2,300 individual experts have contributed to a cooperative project to pinpoint effective ways to end school shootings.

The doc’s central message: rather than adding more weapons, focus on improving social and emotional health.By simply “matching up” to shooters using guns, we are neglecting the major factor that often culti-

vates the school shooter in the first place.

Taking measures to decrease bullying and increase emotional health are actually effective. In a study published in the journal Pediatrics, the percentage of surveyed students that have experienced bullying from 109 different schools has been cut in half from 2005 to 2015. This can be attributed to the fact that schools have adopted more effective methods to decrease it, such as focusing on mutual respect rather than discipline. States have even passed laws prohibiting bullying.

Increasing background checks and giving teachers guns may help decrease school shootings, but it doesn’t deal with the problem at its origin. Rather than normalizing guns and the threat of shooters, we must focus on how the shooters came to be.

Arming teachers is a terrible/great idea Maya Benjamin Staff Writer

The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School changed everything.

On Feb. 14, Nikolas Cruz stormed his former high school located in Parkland, Florida and killed 17 students and faculty. Typically in the wake of mass shootings, there is intense media coverage that simmers down after two weeks or so and politicians offer their thoughts and prayers.

But the shooting in Parkland changed everything.

Students are demanding that mass shootings never happen again.

Senators have begun to propose a variety of bills in their respective states including banning bump stocks, raising the age minimum for owning a gun from 18 to 21, and even allowing teachers to have firearms in their classrooms.

In hindsight, arming teachers is a good idea.

Some students would feel a sense of safety knowing that they would have a teacher prepared to defend their classroom against a dangerous intruder.

Teachers would feel more assured knowing they could fight against an intruder through the protection of a firearm.

The controversial National Rifle Association (NRA) is in favor of such bills, saying that arming teachers would deter possible school shooters as these schools would no longer be perceived as “soft targets.”

The head of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, said in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee, “Our

banks, our airports, our NBA games, our office buildings, our politicians — they’re all more protected than our children at school.

We surround and protect so much with armed security, while we drop our kids off at schools that are so-called ‘gun-free zones.”

LaPierre’s argument is valid. Carlmont’s wide-open campus where firearms are strictly prohibited, except for the one our School Resource Officer (SRO) has, makes Carlmont an easy target for a mass shooter. Furthermore, Carlmont’s campus is 42 acres which would make it nearly impossible for our SRO to reach the affected area in a timely manner.

While Carlmont is only a mere four minutes away from two police stations, more rural areas are not so lucky. Having armed teachers to respond to intruders could possibly be the difference between life and death.

While there are several reasons to be in favor of arming teachers, there also several reasons for concern that need to be addressed by lawmakers.

With police shootings of unarmed black men taking center stage in the media, other horrific stories have come to light: the mistreatment and assault of students by SRO’s.

In November 2010, student Derek Lopez and another student got into a physical altercation causing SRO Daniel Alvarado to chase Lopez after he ran, and eventually shot Lopez. Alvarado later testified that Lopez bull-rushed him causing him to shoot.

These are just two out of hundreds of incidents that have left students seriously injured and in Lopez’s case, dead.

Most of these incidents involve black students, despite studies showing that black and white kids commit similar punishable offenses in school.

As more and more states propose giving teachers permission to have arms in their classroom, black politicians are demanding that states require teachers to undergo diversity training.

On March 2, Florida’s State Senate passed the “Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act” which stipulated that school marshals must undergo at least 12 hours of diversity training.

Another important concern regarding arming teachers is that students would be able to easily take guns teachers have located in their classrooms.

A current proposal to arm teachers in Pennsylvania included no provisions on how guns were to be stored by armed teachers and whether teachers should keep them holstered, in their desks, or in gun safes.

This is problematic.

Arming teachers is a good idea, but there needs to be a provision somewhere in the law that requires teachers or other armed faculty members to have the weapon secured clearly in a gun safe. Currently, nine states in the United States allow for possession of firearms by faculty on public school campuses. Americans should expect more states to soon follow suit following most of the country’s anger over mass shootings.

As states begin to pass legislation allowing faculty to carry guns on campus it’s crucial that diversity training and gun safes for armed teachers are included in the legislation.

Nobody is safe with a gun in their home Nisha Marino Staff Writer

You fail your math test and tell your friends “I’m going to kill myself.”

They don’t take you seriously because it just sounds like a harmless hyperbole. Suicide seems like a thing depressed people do when the right day comes or they have the means.

In reality, suicide can be an immediate response to an upsetting event.

It can be a spontaneous reaction that with more consideration would never happen.

“Most attempters act on impulse, in moments of panic or despair. Once

the acute feelings ease, 90 percent do not go on to die by suicide,” said David Hemenway, the director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center (ICRC).

Nearly all attempts made with a firearm are successful. Someone who attempts suicide using less instantaneous means is more likely to survive.

The odds of saving someone from a gunshot are far lower.

According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about half of the 44,193 suicides committed in 2015 were committed with a firearm.

The Golden Gate Bridge has been a popular suicide hotspot for decades.

July 2012 Aurora, Colo.; screening of “Batman;” 12 dead 70 wounded; gunman age 24 August 2012 Oak Creek, Wis.; Sikh temple; 6 dead; gunman age 40

In a 2003 New Yorker article discussing attempts off the bridge, survivor Ken Baldwin said, “I instantly realized that everything in my life that I’d thought was unfixable was totally fixable—except for having just jumped.”

Many people believe that if someone is suicidal, they will find a way to kill themselves. They think that people without access to a gun can just as easily suffocate themselves or overdose.

However, according to the Harvard ICRC, only about 3 percent of overdose attempts lead to a completed suicide. Without a gun, it is not as easy to commit suicide.

This brings gun ownership into

the picture.

Not everyone who kills themselves has a history of suicidal thoughts or behaviors.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, many suicidal crises are fleeting reactions to timesensitive stressors.

Even without a history of depression, anyone is at risk of falling back on suicide if they lose their job, a loved one, or experience any other type of stressful situation.

Gun owners have a more immediate means to that end. Gun owners have an option that leaves almost no room for error.

Guns make it far too easy for peo-

December 2012 Newtown, Conn.; Sandy Hook Elementary 27 students dead; gunman age 20

ple to commit suicide in a moment of emotional weakness.

A 2008 Harvard study showed that states with more gun ownership also had higher suicide rates.

Now, many states are working towards preventing gun-related suicides by selling gun locks or giving out flyers warning people of the risks.

But the solution is not about responsible gun ownership.

We as humans are impulsive, and having guns around as an option presents a danger to those who own them.

The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800273-8255

December 2015 San Bernardino, Calif; terrorist attack at Inland Regional Center; 14 dead 21 injured; gunman age 29

September 2013 Washington, D.C.; military veteran shoots at a navy yard; 12 dead; gunman age 34

7

OPINION

March 2018 Special Edition

Editorial

School safety is not a political argument Guns are for killing.

There is absolutely no other purpose for having them in everyday civilian life.

Hunting? Sure, but there are grocery stores.

An American right? OK, but we’ve abused it, not to mention it’s outdated.

Children are dying, parents are mourning, and students everywhere are afraid.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been over 30 mass shootings in 2018 alone.

And according to CNN, as of March 8, more than 20 of those shootings have been at schools, and it keeps rising.

That number is too high.

This year has already been a clear view of all the major problems we face in America. It’s only March, yet everywhere you look is filled with controversy and disagreement on all matters, both political and social.

The arguments on Twitter and Facebook are never-ending, our politicians are fighting, our students are protesting, yet there is no change.

And at times when our country faces major issues, such as gun control, we become divided, more than usual.

Lexi Romanowsky

How many more people have to suffer as a result of gun violence until we realize this is not a political argument anymore?

Whether our country abolishes guns as a whole or creates stricter laws, there needs to be a change.

Despite the right given to us by the Second Amendment, guns will not save us from anything.

The Second Amendment’s original purpose was to own firearms in the case of a government uproar or a take over, but an AR15 isn’t going to help you when

the government has explosives and nuclear weapons.

The American Constitution was created in September 1787.

In 1787, guns took over a minute to reload, were heavy, and were much harder to aim.

Even so, 230 years ago, our founding fathers weren’t thinking about the country and how intensely technology would evolve, especially guns.

Not to mention, the first documented mass shooting in America wasn’t until 1949, according to

journalist David Pescovitz.

American laws were formed in response to the bad actions of a small percentage of the population. This is not the case with the misuse of firearms.

Just because the percentages of schools that face gun violence is small does not make it justified.

Students go to school in order to get an education but at the same time are fulfilling a legal obligation.

According to the State of California Department of Justice,

an individual only needs to be 18-years-old to purchase a shotgun or rifle. One then has a short waiting period after turning in a background check form. This means a majority of high school seniors are eligible to purchase a gun, yet cannot buy a beer or rent a car.

There is a problem here.

However, our president and his staff are barely doing anything to create any sort of change to ensure the safety of students.

It’s a gun control problem.

Students, specifically from Parkland but also from around the country are taking serious measures, planning protests, and participating in walk-outs.

Despite our lack of political power, we are still trying to make change and are trying to feel safe.

We’d like the adults of our country to do the same.

As students, we should not let the fear of backlash or gun advocates scare us.

The generations that come after us won’t be afraid to attend school. They won’t be afraid to speak their minds, and they won’t be afraid of getting killed at school.

The time for action is now.

Dear adults: Please do your job Nina Heller Staff Writer

Adolescence: a time filled with fun, being carefree, and the knowledge of a future full of infinite possibilities.

Or at least that is how it should be.

But now, we are forced to act like adults because we don’t want to be murdered in the middle of a physics test or at a shopping mall.

Teenagers are now faced with a daunting task: doing the work that adults have failed to do.

Adults have failed to protect us. Shouldn’t we be able to live past our high school graduations?

When 6 and 7 year olds were murdered at Sandy Hook in 2012, you sat there and voted down the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 in January of that year. That bill would have banned the sale, transfer, importation or manufacture of about 150 named firearms,

the importation of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices. In April of 2013, you voted down the a Manchin-Toomey Amendment which would have required background checks on most private party firearm sales.

After the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, it isn’t the lawmakers who have decided to make change in order to prevent more senseless tragedies; it’s the teenagers.

Just days after 17 students were murdered, hundreds of teenagers from Florida got on buses bound for the state capitol to let their legislators know that they have had enough.

No one asked them to do this, their parents didn’t force them, and I’m pretty sure that we didn’t see droves of adults do this. It shouldn’t be that way.

Teenagers are known for being rebellious, being impulsive, snarky, obnoxious,

and looking for trouble.

But this is a new kind of teenage rebellion. We are taking on adult responsibilities that the adults never took on. We aren’t sneaking out late to go to parties or to get obscene facial piercings.

We are calling our senators, lobbying our congresspeople, and are refusing the empty promises.

On March 24, when we

take to the streets for A March For Our Lives, we are going to march like our lives depend on it.

Most of us who are fighting for tangible change can’t vote yet. Some us can’t even drive ourselves to the protests we wish to attend.

We are creating a better world for ourselves and the adults who did not seem to care about doing so for us.

This isn’t a matter of Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, left or right. It’s about preventing more senseless murder.

To the 435 representatives and 100 senators in congress and the hundreds of state legislators, we have lost faith in you.

Sandy Hook, Charleston, San Bernardino, Las Vegas, Parkland.

The Highlander

ScotCenter Editor-in-Chief

Editor-in-Chief

Sophie Penn

Jordan Hanlon

Scotlight Editor-in-Chief Mona Murhamer

Scot Scoop Editor-in-Chief Brooke Chang

Faculty Adviser Justin Raisner

Those and many more all could have been prevented, but they weren’t.

And it’s the fault of no one else but the adults in power who are supposed to be the ones keeping us safe.

To any adult who says, “It is so admirable how all of these teenagers are taking action.”

We are doing it because you never did.

Staff Writers Ben Balster

Nina Heller

Managing Editor

Maya Benjamin

Mandy Hitchcock

Connor Lin

Sarah Cheung

Cath Lei

Editors

Francesca D’Urzo

Rachel Matatyaou

Rachel Borshchenko Kylie Lin

Molly Donaldson

Veronica Roseborough

Kaylee George

Kimberly Mitchell

Sophie Lynd

Joseph Gomez

Emma Romanowsky

Kathryn Stratz

Sam Hanlon

Victoria Valle Remond

The Highlander is a newspaper dedicated to providing Carlmont students, staff, and the community with high-quality news, features, and opinion articles. We want to keep our readers informed on important issues ranging from events at Carlmont to international news, and want to engage them with unique stories and images. The Highlander is a publication completely run by the students of the journalism classes at Carlmont High School. Story ideas are generated by the students and the published content is up to the discretion of the editorial staff. This issue’s editorial was written by Jordan Hanlon and the editorial cartoon was drawn by Lexi Romanowsky. Timeline by Sophie Lynd and Kaylee George; information from U.S. News and The New York Times.

June 2016 Orlando, Fla.: Pulse nightclub; 49 dead 53 injured; gunman age 29 October 2017 Las Vegas, Nev.; Route 91 Harvest Music Festival; 58 dead 546 injured; gunman age 64

November 2017 Sutherland Springs, Texas; Texas First Baptist Church; 26 dead 20 injured February 2018 Parkland, Fla.; Stoneman Douglas High School; 17 dead 14 injured; gunman 19

OPINION

8

March 2018 Special Edition

Carlmont is not as safe as it seems Molly Donaldson Staff Writer

I’ve been preparing myself for a school shooting since 5th grade.

But I’ve been fortunate enough to not have experienced such a traumatizing event. Unfortunately, other students around the country have not been as lucky.

After the recent attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, people across the nation are advocating for more definite gun control.

However, the fate of high school students does not rest solely on the shoulders of gun control. The safety of a school is also determined by how well-secured a campus is.

Thanks to ample space in the Belmont hills and a mild climate, Carlmont’s campus is able to have a spacious layout. While this design allows an emergency to be contained to one area, it also allows an attack to be convenient and unnoticed.

If an intruder wanted to make their way onto campus, it would be all too easy. The hills to the rear of the campus allow for an undetected entrance. Though only two roads can be taken to enter, many students flood them during the passing periods, making the roads an easy way to target students.

Soni Kanaya, a sophomore, said, “At Carlmont, we have a lot of roads on our campus, so it’s definitely a danger zone. Sometimes there are cars that cotme through and there are a lot of people walk-

Mass Shooting Tracker (2017)

The red triangles represent all the possible entrances that a shooter could get on campus unnoticed

Jordan Hanlon and Kathryn Stratz

ing around, so it wouldn’t be very hard for someone to injure people by running them over.”

If the gates are open, the roads also provide access to Carlmont’s quad, where many lunchtime activities occur.

Although Carlmont may be easy to enter, there would not be many ways for a criminal to escape. The two roads do not provide a lot of options. In addition, the surrounding neighborhood is densely populated, and the nearest police station is four minutes away.

That being said, also nearby are two more schools: Tierra Linda Middle School and Charter Learning Center. Both schools

have a large and open campuses similar to Carlmont. A shooter could cross the street after attacking Carlmont and be able to attack Tierra Linda in two minutes.

After the 2012 attack of Sandy Hook, the Tierra Linda band teacher briefed my class on what to do in the case of an intruder.

We would be ushered into the cubby room, and he’d stand behind the steel doors and punch the trespasser in the stomach with a trombone.

He’d managed to make us laugh and feel safe about a topic so serious. But that is a conversation that no teacher or student should need to have.

Unfortunately, the band room

doors, like many doors at Carlmont, open outward. In the case of an emergency, doors that open out are impossible to barricade.

Many doors are also located next to windows, allowing an intruder to easily break the glass in order to enter the classroom.

After the recent gun attacks and social unrest, many students now fear an emergency occurring at the school.

“I used to feel more safe, but after all these incidents, I’m kind of doubting the safety policies,” Kanaya said.

Yet some students still feel secure at Carlmont due to all the drills students go through.

“I feel safe on campus and that

we are very well prepared because we have drills to make sure we are aware,” Hannah Schnitz, a sophomore, said.

The emergency drills that Carlmont requires allow students to have some sort of reassurance in the case of an urgent situation.

Administrative Vice Principal Gregory Patner said, “The idea of the lockdown drill is to bring awareness and to have some response and I think in an emergency situation, you never know how people are going to act, but I think as far as we can be prepared, we are prepared.”

Despite the drills students have undergone to prepare for an emergency, many students would not know how to react should they come face-to-face with an intruder.

“I honestly wouldn’t know what to do; we’ve never learned to to this. I’d probably run into the gym or as far as I could from the person,” Melina Dimick, a sophomore, said.

Even though they help in the case of fire, the fire drills that Carlmont practices gather all of the students on the football field, making students an easy target.

“I’m pretty sure that this is how one of the shootings happened: someone pulled the fire alarm and then they were all walking outside and that’s how they were able to shoot people. Shooters think about that and think of ways to be strategic in ways to get us out in public,” Kanaya said.

Though Carlmont has a safe community, its campus leaves uncertainty.

Rachel Matatyaou and Kathryn Stratz