Weapon Protocols and Guidelines
Written by Karl Houtman, Former Student on Tuesday, December 1, 2015
In the general public, you may be walking down the street and see someone with a gun in their pocket or know that someone is carrying a knife. No town is without a shady, seedy part that is frowned upon by the rest of the community. However, in a learning environment such as a high school or any school in particular, weapons and violence are not looked upon even remotely by the administration. This may cause some acts or guilty students to be overlooked.
SHS outlines in its handbook the importance of making sure that students abstain from weapon usage and violent acts. Under the heading “Exceptional Misconduct,” one of the offenses is quoted as stating “Possession or use of other weapons or explosive devices, described as articles commonly used to inflict bodily harm and/or to intimidate other persons." This can mean anything from firecrackers to knives to brass knuckles.
One question that really bugs me, however, is this; does the student body feel safe? Do we, as a collective group of people in one area of town, feel safe from those both inside and outside of the gates of our school that threaten us? What is being done in order to protect us from such individuals?
“We have fifteen ways to get on campus. We have the gates open; we lock the gates after the school day starts,” said Greg Barker, an administrator at SHS. “We’ve probably had about six [instances of weapon possession] this year.”
With that being said, we also have to talk about what happens after a student has used a weapon, is threatening to use a weapon, or commits a different violent act.
When faced with assault, a first offense is grounds for a short-term suspension and a possible police notification, as outlined in the handbook. Weapon possession, on the other hand, allows for a student’s expulsion on the first offense, also with a possible police notification.
Expulsion is to keep the entire campus safe, not just students as individuals. This is understandable, however the rules seem to be fairly unbalanced. Also, there is such a thing as an “emergency expulsion." Emergency expulsions are precautionary measures taken to keep the student body safe. A student that has been caught with a weapon is immediately subject to an emergency expulsion, which is a 10-day expulsion that the administration here at SHS can use to gather information and investigate the student, while also getting testimonies from individuals close to the student (i.e. parents, counselors, potentially good friends).
“Based on family input and based on kid input on what happened that day and based on threat assessment with the staff, we then decide if they’re a threat that we need to do more investigation on or are they a kid who made a mistake and we need to get them back in,” Barker states.
I am sorry, but I am pretty sure that my family and friends would say that I was a great kid no matter what I did. This is just them being loyal. That may just be me, but is it possible that the bias of the testimonies is letting students who have no place being here roam our halls? I believe so. I believe that there are individuals on this campus who have friends in high places that get them out of trouble if and when they get caught.
So what can you do about it? Well if you know somebody that carries a knife for protection or in the event they need to dish out some personal justice, calmly and anonymously notify your counselor or administrator. Seeing someone with a knife is one thing, but they look like a completely different person once they have used it. Also, if you are approached to testify on behalf of someone you know will threaten or hurt you if you say anything other than nice things about them, let somebody know. Officer Charles Frati and head of security Nick Hammons certainly will not let them lay a finger on you while you are here at SHS. That is, after all, their job and why they were hired. Be cautious of who you hang out with and what they do in their free time, while also looking out for others and keeping events like the stabbing in 2011 in the past and not a future students will look toward in fear.
