Students Leading the Way to Save Their Own Lives

It’s a long time ago but the memories are still clear. We were seated at our desks as our teacher was at the chalkboard. As she was taking us through the lessons of the day, a sharp and very loud bell went off outside the classroom jolting many of us to sharper attention than we had been moments before.

It was the fire alarm going off. Closing up our books, we stood up from our desks and pushed our chairs in as the teacher went over to turn out the classroom lights and grab her gradebook and attendance roster. Pointing to a couple of kids seated near where the windows were, she asked them to close the windows and lower the blinds, while the rest of us lined up against the wall.

With everyone in single file, we proceeded to the blacktop, some of us cupping our hands over our ears tightly in a futile effort to dampen the loud ringing that not only had our attention but had probably awakened the dead in the cemetery down the street. Standing outside and along with other rows of classes, our teacher then called out our names to make sure we were all accounted for.

Such was the ease and discipline of the school fire drill in elementary school.

The quaintness of that memory of being a squirrelly, fidgety elementary school student is almost a Norman Rockwell Americana moment. Back then, the biggest fear that our teachers and parents might have had during our school was a fire of some type breaking out in the school building.

Today, the fear of a simple building fire is far down the list of student, parent and public fears when it comes to an average school day in America.  A Washington Post series from earlier this year estimated that “more than 187,000 students have been exposed to gun violence at school” since the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999.

The statistics are as sobering and stunning as they are heartbreaking. I have to admit every early morning that I go out the door to work and watch my two sons leave for school, I often wonder, “Is today the day horror comes to their classrooms?”

I wonder the same thing about my daughter who’s away at college as her campus is also not immune from the threat of violence. No classroom in America can be termed a safe and secure space and as schools are critical infrastructure, their vulnerability is an outrage.  I think everyone feels that way regardless of where they are on the political spectrum.

But as frustrating and bewildered as we all may be about this situation, solutions and any sense of agreement on what those solutions could and should be are often as remote as actual school safety is in today’s world.

But I have hope that can change as the people who are most often in the crosshairs of school violence – the actual students are stepping to the forefront to lead the discussions on how to keep our schools safe. Sparked by the student survivors of the tragic shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the needle on this issue has moved dramatically. Whether it be their media savvy, their tactical political moves, or the fact it was a unique moment of time that they caught lightening and electrified the public by saying, “NO MORE!”, the debate on school safety has changed.

The University of Southern California has taken notice and has assembled a live and interactive platform and program for October 24th that is going to put students from across America who have been in those crosshairs, front and center. The National Safe Schools Digital Summit is bringing students from Marjory Stoneman High, Virginia Tech and other schools that have experienced violence, along with several noted public safety leaders to talk about strategies and solutions to what can only be called a scourge and epidemic no one should encounter.

In a live, online platform that is free and open to all, I have no doubt the discussions will be emotional and gut wrenching, but when it comes to anything related to protecting our children, there is no reason they should not be.

Which is why the timing of this conversation is so important. Ignoring it and going through the habitual motions of our national response (e.g. extending “thoughts and prayers,” large public gatherings of grief, half-staff flags, spun-up shouts on cable TV, etc.), have gotten us nowhere.

Last Spring, I remember coming home from work and seeing the TV on in the family room as both of my sons were watching a news broadcast of another school shooting (I don’t remember which one it was). Coming down the stairs and seeing what was unfolding on the screen, I turned to my 17-year old and asked him for his thoughts.

His reply was a gut punch.

“I’m not surprised. This is part of my life.” Turning to look at his younger brother seated on the floor, he looked at me and nodded his head in affirmation offering a sober, “Yup.”

I know I’m not the only parent who has felt that blow, but it pales in comparison to the anguished strike that parents and families have endured when the child they love doesn’t make it home from school alive.

The student voice in this dialogue is not going to be ignored or overlooked anymore. USC to their credit has found a way to share their insights and invite us to listen and absorb their direction.

I look forward to listening on October 24th to what they have to say because when you’re in the crosshairs every day, life takes on greater urgency and meaning. And urgency and meaning in addressing this problem are way over due.