There are other ways to keep schools safe

By Lauren DeWitz

Prowl reporter

On what should’ve been a day of love, a 19-year-old man named Nikolas Cruz killed 17 students and teachers at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL.

Once a student there, Cruz somehow managed to get back into the school after being expelled. His entrance into the school on that day would mark history and result in yet another school shooting.

This, once again, brought up many arguments between people across the country. The most important being: should there be more gun control or self-control?

Cruz had obtained 10 firearms within the past month before the attack, according to CNN.com. All of these guns were rifles. AKs.

A 19-year-old with mental health  issues shouldn’t have been able to acquire 10 assault weapons. The laws on gun control need to be tighter; it is time to start protecting our children, not our weapons.

Cruz was known as a child in need. Cops frequently showed up at his home due to his anger, and he was expelled from the same school in which the massacre happened at.

His social media accounts, filled with racial slurs and weapons, set off warning signs; all of these signs were somehow missed. The FBI also failed to figure out that Cruz was the person who made the obscure comment on YouTube, “I am going to be a professional school shooter.” This comment was made under the username Nikolas Cruz, his real name.

Cruz suffered from depression ever since his mother passed away. He was seeing a therapist. Despite all of these contributing factors, Cruz obtained 10 assault rifles.

Some people say a solution to the violence in American schools would be to bring more violence; give qualified teachers guns to fight off the bad guys. Reality can’t be like Hollywood. There are multiple issues with allowing teachers to carry firearms on campus.

First, there is all of the money that would have to go into it. Guns aren’t cheap, and neither is the training these teachers would have to take in order to use the firearm. Without all of these costs, my school still can’t even afford to send more than five people from my speech and debate team to state this year. Without all of these costs, my school can’t even fund summer school. Imagine how many more budget cuts there would be if we had to pay for more guns to be brought into our school.

Next, there would be a huge emotional toll on the poor teacher who potentially would have to shoot one of their students. We can’t expect these teachers to magically turn into soldiers. Training helps, yes, but training doesn’t guarantee success. Training doesn’t mean that the teachers will all of a sudden be an attack machine. When someone decides they want to become a teacher, they aren’t signing up to possibly kill one of their students.

Instead, a very good solution to help keep schools more safe would be to hire some bodyguards. This job could be given to America’s veterans. The majority of homeless people in this country are veterans. War veterans would be more than happy to protect students; that’s what they do, that’s why they enlisted. Of course, the certain individual would have to be mentally stable to have this job. Instead of training teachers to kill, we can bring people in with actual combat and firearm experience. We can be helping the homeless veterans get back on their feet and protect our schools better at the same time.

America, it is time to strengthen the gun laws and protect the people. Children in American schools shouldn’t have to feel that their country cares about guns more than their lives.

It’s not a gun problem; it’s a ‘society’ problem

By Lauren LeJeune

Prowl reporter

This Valentine’s Day Parkland Florida suffered a tremendous loss following the massacre that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. Seventeen people were killed by a nineteen year old named Nikolas Cruz who had recently been expelled from the school.

It’s no secret that this country has a problem with lunatics picking up a weapon and flocking to schools with the intent of mowing down our children. We’ve seen it multiple times over the past few years and in other instances as well. Stephen Paddock murdered 58 people and injured over 500 in Las Vegas. Sutherland Springs, Texas suffered a tremendous loss during a church service when a gunman killed at least 26 people and, most recently, the shooting in Florida.

It didn’t take long for many politicians and celebrities to take hold of the situation and set up their platform to shove gun control down the throats of everyone in the nation. The thing is, gun control does not work. There’s been plenty of times throughout history where politicians and figures with political power have called for the confiscation of all guns- and gotten away with it.

Here are some quotes about gun control from buckeyefirearms.com:

“There’s no question that weapons in the hands of the public have prevented acts of terror or stopped them.”

– Israeli Police Inspector General Shlomo Aharonisky

“When the law disallows both the means and moral authority to defend one’s self and property, crime and violence fill the void between common sense and the hoped for utopia.”

– JD Filkins (taken from “Gun Quotes by Average Citizens”)

It’s also clear to see that what we have isn’t a gun problem. But it’s becoming more evident that we have a society that worships killing and raping people through music and video games. Parents aren’t disciplining children, more worried about being their friend than anything.

My generation is taught that it’s okay to disrespect authority. We have been desensitized to violence. What’s more, according to nami.org, approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.-43.8 million or 18.5%- experiences mental illness in a given year.  Approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13-18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life.

It becomes evident that what we have isn’t a gun problem, but a societal issue.

Instead of calling for new reforms and stricter laws, there’s effective ways to lower the chances of having a school shooting.

The Washington Post wrote back in April 2016 that schools across the country are already allowing their teachers to have a concealed firearm with them in classrooms. Some of these include The Kingsburg Joint Union High School District in Kingsburg, California, Oklahoma, Utah, Ohio and other states.

I can tell you, many students would much rather have an armed teacher guarding them instead of relying on throwing textbooks and pencils at an active shooter.

We guard our banks, courtrooms, sport stadiums, museums, shopping centers and many other places as well with security that carry guns. But it’s hard to understand why one of our most vulnerable and valuable places is left defenseless against the evil people who wish to harm those with less power than them.

It’s clear to see that gun control has not and will not work to protect our children against this growing and alarming new trend of mass murdering children.  The time has come for people to open their eyes and realize the harsh truth that a “gun free zone” sign isn’t going to cut it anymore.

SOURCES: washingtonpost.com; nami.org; buckeyefirearms.com