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Do
You Feel Safe At Beverly?
In light of increased school
violence across the nation, we decided to investigate just how safe
our school is, what was being done to keep Beverly students safe,
and how the students and staff felt about their safety.
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The
Threat
Can It Happen Here?
Columbine,
Santana, Thurston High School– all of these schools strike fear in
many students and parents alike across the nation. Just what is it
about these communities that fostered such horrific violence? Could
it happen at Beverly? What can be done to prevent such a tragedy?
Time and time again, there is one quote that reigns supreme among
all school shootings: “I never would have thought it could have
happened here.”
In fact the stereotype of where violence is “supposed to happen”
is fatally flawed. Lets take a look at the similarities between
locations of school shooting rampages and Beverly Hills High School.
There seems to be one common aspect at all of these schools where
school shootings occurred: all took place in affluent middle to
upper class suburban communities. This is a profile that surprises
many. Most people think that school violence is something for
inner-city schools in bad neighborhoods. The majority of the
students and teachers we interviewed share these same thoughts and
believe Beverly is sheltered from such violence. But what is so
different about Beverly than the sites of school shootings? The
frightening answer: almost nothing. Like Columbine, Santana High,
and Thurston, Beverly is a wealthy community in the suburbs. Like
these other schools, we are also a large public school that fosters
to a large number of students. As senior Benjamin Maslin saw it, a
school shooting can happen anywhere. Not only are we not immune, but
also our community in particular seems to actually resemble that of schools
such as Columbine and Santee.
Stressors: Pushed Over the Edge
Just
what would lead a student to resort to school violence? What, if
anything, are unique stressors to our community?
There is one common state of mind that echoes through most all
school shootings: alienation. There is a multitude of stressors that
can lead to a teenager feeling alienated. The most prominent is
bullying. Bullying can cause one’s self-image to plummet and rage
to build up. Most Beverly students agree, however, that bullying is
not a significant force on campus at Beverly. Although Beverly, like
all schools, has its share of bullying, it is far less than at other
schools, according to students. What is it then that is creating the
sense of alienation, the depression, and the suicide cases and
attempts that do in fact go on at Beverly?
There are, of course, the common problems that face most teenagers:
drugs, popularity, peer pressure, family problems, etc. All of these
do exist at Beverly. As we reported earlier, there is a significant
percentage of the student population using drugs. Due to Beverly’s
high educational reputation, academic pressure on the students is
far greater than the national norm for high schools. There is a
certain frenzy among many students over getting into a good college,
getting good grades, etc. These academic pressures can build up and
create much stress.
There are also many financial pressures, says Junior Max Rosenblum,
at Beverly. Driving expensive cars, wearing designer brands, and
keeping a wealthy image at Beverly is critical to “fitting in at
Beverly” in the eyes of some students. Rosenblum affirmed that
these “necessities” as some students see them for fitting in
with the “popular crowd” may lead to a sense of alienation and
loneliness. Students spend 30 to 40 hours a week at school, and if
that time is being spent without friends and with a sense of
disconnection from fellow peers, a student could resort to violence.
Beverly Hills is not immune to family troubles as well. Although it
is difficult to ascertain exactly what is going on at students’
homes, recent events show that domestic violence is not something
that we simply watch on “cops”, but it is happening in the homes
of Beverly students. Last month the mayor received two separate emails
from students who were concerned over their friends who told them
about violence in their homes. To deal with such problems, the
administration is considering holding an assembly next month. A
turbulent home life can lead to such feelings of alienation and
contribute to a student’s rage against society.
School Security
Most
students agree that school security at Beverly is very lax. It is
apparent to most that it is very easy for someone to come on campus
with a gun or a bomb either during school hours or after. To confirm
students’ allegations that it is very easy for someone to enter
campus, we sent a 40-year-old male into the school to walk the
hallways and see how long it takes before someone approached him.  It
wasn’t until nine minutes on campus (plenty of time for him to
have planted a bomb or committed some other act of violence) before
a teacher approached him and asked him where he wanted to go. We
also wanted to test school security to see how long it would take
for a filled duffle bag left in front of the main office to be
picked up. Although it only took five minutes for it to be removed
(which is an accomplishment given the amount of area the school is
responsible for patrolling), the time was still more than adequate
for an assailant to flee before some timed device detonated. Our
tests also showed that the school was not well protected after
hours, and, on the contrary, it was quite easy to enter due to
various unlocked doors.
Many students also have concerns regarding the effectiveness of the
unarmed school security guards that patrol campus. Jerome Allouche
said that he didn’t believe school security would ever be able to
stop someone with a gun. Various other students agreed that the
school security officers would have very little to contribute were a
school shooting to occur. The armed BHPD officer Charles Yang who
acts as an on campus officer, faces a chance at subduing armed
gunmen, but most students agree that an effective takedown would not
occur until BHPD swat team could arrive on scene, and by that time
many lives can be taken. School security guards disagree, however,
and feel the school is very well protected. Security guard Chris Anderson was quick to point out the various lockdown drills the
school has performed and he said that security personnel at the
school had been trained to respond to various scenarios.
WHICH
WILL STOP A GUNMAN?
One student who asked us to not release her name said that she felt
the fire evacuation procedures were dangerous. She pointed to the
Westside Middle School shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas and said that
the shooting rampage there (that claimed five lives and injured 10
others) happened after the assailants pulled a fire alarm and then
mowed the evacuating students down with gunfire. She went on to
explain the dangers she saw in gathering so many people onto such a
compact, enclosed, and difficult to escape from football field.
(above
- students try to walk through small gates to return to class after fire drill)
Even though it might take the Beverly Hills SWAT team to respond for
a conflict to be settled, the BHHS security camera system that is in
place will surly assist efforts by locating suspects and bombs.
Although there are not cameras in every hallway and outdoor area,
the cameras in place would help law enforcement take control of a
situation. Jerome Allouche also pointed out flaws in the school
lockdown procedure. “Everyone knows that if such an outbreak were
to occur, we’d all freak out and go on our own.” This mentality
is not unique, in fact, 40 percent of the students we spoke with
agreed that in the event of school violence, they would try to get
out of the school as fast as possible instead of getting to the
nearest classroom as school policy requires. Lockdown policy also
states that teachers are, under no circumstances, allowed to open
the door for a student once the doors are locked. A screaming
student outside the door may be a gunman. One student offered the
idea that perhaps peepholes should be installed on the doors so that
teachers can see what is happening outside of their classroom door.
Science teacher Dave Knowlton said that he might consider opening
the door for a student screaming at the door during a lockdown and
that it depended on how he assessed the situation.
According to Assistant Principal Dave Hoffman, new security measures
and drills have made Beverly far safer than it was at the beginning
of the year. Eli Markus saw the
school security system, however, as follows: if someone’s mind is set to
resorting to violence at school, no amount of security will really
be able to stop it. It is this very notion that has led most
administrators in the US to focus on prevention programs rather than
increased security measures.
Are
The Students Concerned?
“It could never happen here”
There is a very interesting dynamic that occurs in this nation:
after every school shooting, students across the country become very
worried about school safety. As time goes on, however, such fears
die down and the all too common “nothing could ever happen to
me” and “something like that could never happen here”
mentalities surface. In our interviews with students, it became
apparent that there is an image among students of Beverly Hills that
violence could never happen here. There is a feeling of
invincibility within the city. Junior Thomas Watanapun drew
attention to the statistics in Beverly Hills. “Have we had any
history of such things happening?” he said. What many people fail
to understand is the there is no need for precedence in an event
like a school shooting. In fact, locations of school shootings such
as Columbine and Santee were in communities where there was very
little violence. Junior Shelly Chawla said that she is not worried
about a school shooting. After thinking over the matter, however,
she said, “but that’s what everyone thinks – that it could
never happen to them.” The majority of the people who we
interviewed shared the same feelings as Chawla: that there is no
need for alarm. A common rationalization that many students have is
that there is nobody “that crazy” at the school. The common
perception is that a school shooter has to be a “lunatic” and
that it would be apparent to everyone that the student is a
“complete nut”. The facts simply don’t support these
generalizations.
It is this very denial that creates problems and allows such
tragedies to occur. Students need to realize, said Junior Max
Rosenblum, that someone who might bring a gun to school is not that
weirdo that you see in the movies, but rather someone you might not
necessarily suspect. Although the City of Beverly Hills doesn’t
have very much crime, it very much resembles Littleton, Colorado and
other such locations of school shootings. “It is time that people
get a reality check,” said Beverly Underground writer Jim Moore.
What
You Can Do
Take Threats Seriously
Death threats have become somewhat of a commonplace part of everyday
speech for many teens. In today’s society, it has become a joking
matter, something which is rarely taken seriously. It is just this
however: this desensitizing that results in terrible tragedies. How
is a friend to know whether or not to take a threat seriously, and
if it is taken seriously, is that person going to make the leap to
turn his or her friend in? The fact is, the friend of someone who
makes such a threat has a tough choice to make, but it is one that
should always remain constant.  If
your friend threatened to kill someone or to resort to violence - if you
have any doubt as to whether or not your friend is serious,
that has to be dealt with. Volunteer youth worker Mike Hardcastle is
adamant in his position that students should report every
threat to a parent or school official. He said that, “fears of over-reacting or of getting someone in trouble
need to be pushed aside and forgotten.” It is quite simply too
great of a risk to not report such threats.
According to Mr. Hoffman, "Communication between
students and between students and staff serve as our best
preventative measure. The
quick communication of reliable information is vital to both the
prevention of an event and to the proper reaction if one occurs.
" Beverly currently does not have a tip
hotline in place, but some schools across the nation have set up
hotlines for students to anonymously report threats.
Most psychologists and
youth counselors agree that trying to talk a friend out of such an
act is not always effective and often the person who made the threat
in the first place may say that he or she was just joking, or that
his/her mind has changed, and that might not be the case. “You
have the power to stop bad things before they start or to end them
before they escalate beyond control,” said Hardcastle, “all you
have to do is reach out and tell someone what you know.”
Get More Involved
Unlike many schools, students at Beverly Hills High have the unique
opportunity to choose from a variety of extracurricular programs.
Due to the diverse group of people Beverly supports, there is a
niche for just about everyone at the school. If a student is
feeling isolated and alienated from society, finding a place to fit
in can make all the difference. There are 68 clubs, a multitude of
sports to choose from, and an extensive visual/performing arts
department. It is clear that the school does a good job fostering to
a broad spectrum of interests to thus provide a place for everyone.
Tests show that by getting involved in such activities in the
community and by interacting with fellow peers that have similar
interests, self-esteem and a sense of “fitting in” are boosted.
If you feel lonely, it is good to know that there are places for you
to interact with similar people.
If you are feeling down, the most important thing to do is to talk
to someone about your feelings. Whether that means talking to your
parents about your problems, or if you feel more comfortable
bringing it to one of the various counseling programs at the school,
communication is critical. It is when rage builds up and people
don’t discuss their problems that people tend to snap and violence
occurs.
What
the School Can Do
Prevention Is Key
Jim Moore said, “The fact is, anybody can walk on campus and plant
a bomb or start a shooting rampage. It takes 30 seconds. There is no
stopping that. What the school should focus on is prevention: stop
the student from even contemplating the notion." Beverly Hills
psychotherapist Catrien Villamil agrees that prevention is a far
wiser tactic than greater security measures. The School Site Safety
Committee, which is comprised of district staff and security
personnel, is designed to promote safety at Beverly. A number of
counseling programs such as the Conflict Mediation Team, the Annabelle
Wasserstein Peer Counseling Program, the Anger Management Group,
on-site counselors, and local teen counseling hotlines such as Teen
Line are all aimed at helping students get through conflicts (for
more info on such programs, see the Maple
Center Counseling Website). Many students don’t feel
comfortable seeking such help, however, and according to Villamil,
that’s where problems can arise. Although tests show teens are
more likely to seek help among fellow peers (thus the creation of
programs such as the Peer Counseling Program), many students are
still not comfortable enough to talk to someone about their
problems. The peer counseling programs also have their downfalls.
Eli Markus was quick to point out that “nobody takes it seriously
because it’s just another one of their friends” who are
administering the help. Shelly Chawla agrees and went on to say that
she felt most people would not seek such resources in a time of
crisis.
BHHS has a very strong counseling program which has great potential,
but it is critical that teens in need seek help. Schools such as
Columbine and Santee had counseling programs, but the students at
those schools that resorted to violence refused to seek help.
“Unless there are policies to encourage teens to actually seek
help and feel comfortable discussing their problems, many teens will
continue to bottle up their problems no matter how much help is out
there for them,” said Moore.
Personal Freedoms vs. Increased
Safety
When discussing increased safety, the issue of personal freedoms
comes into play. What concessions are students willing to make in
order to feel safer? In light of school violence, various schools
across the nation have resorted to measures such as metal detectors
at the entrances, multiple armed guards, fences, and a “closed
campus” policy which means all doors are locked during school
hours. All of these safety measures lay heavily on students’
freedoms. Some schools are starting to resemble prisons  more
than they are educational facilities. Student opinion is pretty much
split on the issue. When asked if she would prefer increased security for increased
sense of well being, Chawla joked about the security policies being
enacted at many schools and said perhaps the school should “put a
protective bubble shield to destroy any missile headed our way.”
She is adamantly against increased security measures and she does
not share the worries about school violence that some have. Other
students such as Jerome Allouche say that they would not mind
increased security measures. Allouche said that he would rather
spend the two minutes going through metal detectors than worrying
that Beverly will become the next Columbine. Until students and
faculty can come to agreement as to whether increased security is a
necessary evil, the school will have to continue to devise
non-confrontational security techniques. The only problem is, will
such techniques actually prove to be a deterrent against violence?
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