Journal # 9 - "Lockdown"

"The world is a different place than it was prior to the shootings in Montreal, Columbine and any number of other places. How much do you pay attention to violent issues in the media? How safe do you feel in school? What suggestions do you have for finding our way (as a society) to a more peaceful state? Do you have any thoughts, comments, opinions, or suggestions about how the situation at Stamford on Oct. 14, 2009 was handled?"

There are times when I do watch and pay attention to the news. This mainly happens in the morning, just before I go to school, or after dinner, when my dad has it on. Things that are showcased on the various news channels are often horrible events that have happened, or are happening. Someone has been killed, a store has been robbed, soldiers being held captive. More often than not, the top news stories are horrid tales of reality.
It seems that for things to be changed and for things to be taken seriously (such as threats and lockdowns), something terrible must happen first. After the shootings in Columbine, many places began to practice lockdown procedures and become more aware of what was occuring amongst the student population.
I've had my fair share of lockdowns. Years back, when I was in grade 7, my class was on a bowling trip and the community went into a lockdown procedure. So, pretty much, we were locked in a bowling alley without a clue as to why we couldn't leave at the time. All we knew was that we had to stay quiet. Finally, they were able to bus us back to the school. It wasn't until after the suspect was in custody that we were able to leave the school. It had happened at the local high school. A man had shot one of the teachers there (it was his wife.)
From my knowledge of how lockdowns are supposed to be played out, this terrible example was played out really well. We may have been annoyed with the lack of information, but I know that the staff and the community were only doing it to protect our safety. In the event of an emergency, there is only so much teaching staff are able to do. They are responsible for looking out for our safety while at the same time, there own safety is at risk.
On the event of the October 14th lockdown of Stamford Collegiate, I am not able to say to much about it. The reason for this being, I was not in the building at the time it had happened. Walking back from Co-op, I went to enter the school, as I always do. Except this time, I wasn't allowed in. One of the teachers told me to go some place warm for about an hour because we were in a lockdown. He didn't tell me the purpose of the lockdown, whether it was real or a practice one. So, I did what he told me to do. I went some place that was warm.
When I returned about an hour later, the school had been taken off of lockdown and I was allowed to go to my class. Towards the end of the day, the principals went around the school handing out a letter, eplaining what had happened.
I think the staff at Stamford handled the situation very well. It may have only been a written threat, but they did take it seriously. There is only so much that can be done in potentially dangerous time such as that day, and the staff at Stamford did there best.