The tragic events from a school shooting in Florida have raised concern all around the world, especially from members of the school community.

Students at Tahoma must be protected, and there may need to be changes put in place in order to ensure the safety of both the students and staff.  With a school so big and filled with so many students there is a lot to do. The recent events at Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida have left people worried for this current year and years to come. And the question remains: what makes Tahoma safe?

Tahoma practices fire drills constantly, but in reality, there has not been a school fire with 10 or more deaths since 1954, however, there have been eight mass school shootings in 2018 so far, with an average of 10 deaths per shooting. There are monthly fire drills, but there is no monthly active shooter training.

So far, Tahoma has security cameras, gates that can go down, as well as an on-campus officer. That being said, there may need to be significant changes to security. Principle Terry Duty stated, “We have vestibule entries that close down during the school day that forces everyone into the main office, we have over 230 video cameras that are all motion sensor-ed and we have gates to limit access.” In the event of an intruder, these cameras will be able to track where the person is within the building. With that comes the security gates, allowing the school to isolate the intruder to one area. Also, we have 31 entrances throughout the school which are locked from the outside except for the two main entrances on the east and west sides of the school. This is so that everyone must pass through one of the offices and go passed an adult. Tahoma asks that no one props open doors or leave any unlocked so that they can regulate who enters the building.

Another thing that is also important, and is the number one countermeasure Tahoma has, is how necessary it is that the community works together. On campus, Officer Carl Bonnell said, “It comes down to the 2,500 kids that are around here and their parents and the community around here, if you see something weird, strange, out of place, let us know, the school takes them seriously and I take them seriously.” It is crucial the community reports anything that seems suspicious, even something that is seen on social media. Also, just because there is a lot of security in place, doesn’t mean something cannot slip past as everything and everyone can’t be micromanaged. Which makes it all the more important to speak up.

Tahoma security has proven to be very efficient, but there can still be changes within the school. Senior and ASB president Max Ratsch said a change can be, “making sure everyone feels safe and welcome so they don’t have to resort to that option [of violence at school].”  There has been a lot of links between mental health, bullying, etc and school shootings. If students and staff were to take the time and make social connections with students and maybe even emotional ones, once you get to know them those connections could save someone from making a tragic mistake. It can be as easy as checking in with students and asking how they are. If you notice a fellow classmate is always alone or separated, go up and engage in a conversation. Those positive actions can make a huge difference in someone’s life. It is also probably one of the best preventative measures that the community can take. Thus, taking care of everyone can protect the students.

Overall, Tahoma wants their students to be safe. They put time and money into more than just the look and education of Tahoma. This ultimately leaves the question of if the students actually feel safe coming to school every day even with our expansive security measures?