Hana St. Juliana, 1; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Justin Shilling, 17; and Tate Myre, 16, were tragically murdered on Tuesday, November 30, at Oxford High School in Michigan. 

Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old, was apprehended after firing about 30 shots in the school hallway with a semi-automatic handgun. He was arrested and charged with one count of terrorism-causing death and four counts of first-degree murder, and his parents were charged with involuntary manslaughter for their alleged actions leading up to the shooting. 

Apart from the tragedies at Oxford, at the time this newspaper went to press, there have been 34 school shootings this year, 24 of which occurred since August 1. The pandemic interrupted the trend line, as in 2020 there were only 10 shootings; this was lower than the 24 shootings both in 2019 and 2018.

 Abbe Arnsten, a junior at Poly, said, “It’s heartbreaking to hear that kids are losing their lives due to shootings. More common issues are taking people’s attention in the media, though.” Even though she claims the possibility of a school shooting doesn’t affect her daily life, she stated “sometimes after major events the thought of my school having a shooter sits in the back of my mind.” 

Ramesh Laungani, chair of the science department, commented on how his perception of school shootings has changed over time. “Unfortunately, the Michigan school shooting, although I was sad I almost had no reaction given the regularity…Columbine was the first school shooting that came into my view. I grew up when school shootings weren’t really a thing.”

June Dorche, grade 11, says that she thinks “because of the decrease in school shootings, there are fewer people worrying. Schools are doing everything they can to keep kids safe.” Schools all around the U.S are taking initiatives to combat the rising trend of gun violence. Michigan school districts are now requiring clear backpacks for students, and the legal age to purchase a firearm in Florida has recently changed from 18 to 21.

Here at Poly, Director of Safety & Security Vincent Rutuelo is the primary coordinator for safety drills for a situation should it arise. He provided general information on conducting these drills at Poly in an email to the Polygon. Lockdown drills start with an “announcement over the school’s Public Address (PA) system.” Once students hear this announcement, they follow the directions stated over the PA.

Teachers are given the responsibilities to “move students out of sight and keep silent; check the hallway outside of their classrooms for students, lock classroom doors, and turn off the lights and draw window shades if necessary; move out of sight and keep silent; and take attendance, accounting for students as well as faculty/staff.” 

He also notes that it is important to feel safe at Poly, and our security guards are qualified to protect the safety of the students and faculty. “We currently have 15 security officers across two campuses. All security officers must take courses prior to obtaining their security licenses. Once they are hired at Poly, they are trained according to the security department manual that is specific to Poly Prep’s security needs.” 

“There are many aspects of school emergencies that we cannot discuss for safety reasons,” Rutuelo wrote. “I believe our students are safe here at Poly.”