Arielle Moore

Staff Writer

In the wake of all the terrorist attacks that have taken place all around the world, the country has gone into what seems like lockdown. You might notice that security measures are being increased almost everywhere and to most they seem almost unnecessary. In recent years, schools have become one of the top places where security was tightened due to the many attacks that have taken place. In such a secure environment where students are entrusted with the freedom to keep the community safe and weapon-free, the last thing we think about is an attack on the school and students. But is our trust enough? While SLA has never personally experienced threats to our school, we are still susceptible to many dangers. For this topic, I interviewed SLA’s co-principal Aaron Gerwer about how SLA handles this issue and also what takes place to keep the school safe. “There’s a bunch of stuff we do to make sure you all are safe everyday. I think the advisory program is the most important safety measures if that makes sense. Having an adult in the building who is an advocate and someone you can check-in with prevents a lot of issues before they begin,” he says. “Besides that, at the entry-way officer Byrd is checking to make sure that no intruders enter and that no one is bringing in anything dangerous.” Mr. Gerwer also believes that extreme security measures go against our safe and profile-free environment here. “Yes I do. That is why we don’t have metal detectors. SLA is generally considered to be the safest school in the district and we don’t have uniforms, hall sweeps or, as I said, metal detectors.”

After getting an adult’s perspective, I had to pick the brains of some students who had a bit to say about how they feel on a day-to-day basis at the school.  Of all the students I asked, there was a universal feeling of safety in our building. Some felt as if we could be taking more measures to ensure total safety. “The front door should be locked and someone should always be at the front desk,” says Tamir Harper. When asked what measures we should be taking, Sydney Rogers added,“There are some risky behaviors taking place, but not really.” A junior responded, “We should be stricter about who we let into the school. Other than that, I feel safe here.”

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