highschooljournalism

The Importance of School Safety

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

Editorial by: Rubee Stillwagon 

Editorial

Making sure our schools are safe should be a number one priority, especially in today’s society. With the number of school shooting rates increasing every year, it’s important to take the proper steps in order to keep everyone safe. 

“I think fire drills should be done maybe one in the fall one in the spring and lockdown drills should be done every month,” School Police Officer Mr. Kerry Dieter said. “On a state level, I think they should flip those around.” 

According to Education Week, as of November of this year, there have been 36 school shootings that resulted in injuries or death. Since 2018 there have been 180 school shootings. On average, in these shootings, two people are killed and one is injured. Although these numbers may not seem that big, they are still too high. Students should be taught to be prepared for these situations so there are less injuries and deaths.  

The door jamb that was provided to all classrooms to use in the event of a lockdown.

Photo by: Rubee Stillwagon

“I know school shootings are a big fear for many students and that’s sad to me,” sophomore Maggie Alcorn said. 

School shootings are a fear for kids all over the world and it’s unfortunate that this is something they worry about. According to Sandy Hook Promise, more than 43,000 were exposed to gun fire at school in 2022. Schools take certain measures to make the buildings safer but some of them aren’t always as beneficial as they believe. 

“I feel like the door jambs can be beneficial,” Alcorn said. “But I also think they can be dangerous.” 

All teachers were provided with jam block safety systems to use in case of an emergency. The problem with these safety systems is not their reliability, but rather how safe they are actually keeping people. While these do block the door and keep them shut, they can also tell an intruder that someone is in the room. This is because they can only be used from the inside.  

“I think we need all new interior doors and new door locks,” Officer Dieter said. “A locked door is the number one life saver.” 

Even if an intruder does get into the school, a door and lock protecting students and teachers in classrooms can be a saving factor. 

“We are the only schools within the county that don’t have mousetrap entrances,” Dieter said. 

Mousetrap entrances are becoming very common within schools. These entrances are set up so that anyone coming into the school must pace through a secure vestibule before entering the actual school building. This would stop people from having access to the rest of the building before making sure they are not a threat. Unfortunately, this is a very expensive remodel for schools.  

“When it comes to protecting people, I feel like more money should be used,” Alcorn said. 

Although schools have money put aside for safety measures, some people would argue that it should be a larger amount. But that doesn’t necessarily come from the school level but more from state and federal levels. 

“I think because this is clearly a problem in our nation, that there should be some funding provided by the state and federal government,” Math Teacher Mr. Al Toret said.  

The burden of protecting schools from a school shooting is too big to fall on local schools. This goes beyond the school and to higher authorities. With this being said, there is another thing as well that falls into the hands of those beyond school level. 

  “There should be some school focused training that officers are required to go through, and I would say on a regular basis,” Mr. Toret said. 

After the shooting on May 24, 2022, at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, many people questioned the way law enforcement handled the situation. Although there were 376 law enforcement officers on scene, they were reported to have handled things in a “chaotic, uncoordinated way that lasted for over an hour,” according to The Texas Tribune.  

“A building like a school does offer a different thing because you’re dealing with children,” he said. 

Schools filled with learning children should be protected. After all, children are one day going to be future leaders. That is why it is so important to raise awareness about this problem that our world is facing and take all the proper steps in order to keep people safe. 

“If you see something, say something,” Officer Dieter said. “Everyone knows something at some point. It’s a matter of whether they want to say it.” 

Tragic Event at Taylor Swift Concert

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

by: Adison Poole

On November 17th a Taylor Swift fan passed away at her night one show in Rio de Janeiro.  

“I know a lot about the fan passing away at Swift’s Brazil show,” junior Lauryn Swierczynski said. “The fan actually passed before Swift even took the stage.”  

The 23 year old fan, Ana Clara Benevides Machado, became ill at the show due to the heat wave, with temperatures that felt over 100° Fahrenheit inside the stadium.  

With the heat wave going on outside the stadium and the number of fans inside the stadium, water was a necessity for fans in attendance.  

Fans who prepared for the night two concert in Pittsburgh. As can be seen, everybody had water on hand.

Pictured from left to Alexis Strouse, Lauryn Swierczynski, GS Graduate Katlyn Swierczynski, GS Graduate Josie Beckerleg and Sophie Beckerleg.

Photo courtesy of: Lauryn Swierczynski

“Unlike how it was for U.S. shows like mine, the international shows don’t have a seating plan,” Swierczynski explained. “In Brazil, it was basically like a mosh pit of people.” 

After the events that took place on night one, Swift decided to postpone Saturday night’s show until Monday to make changes in the stadium to prioritize fans’ safety.  

“I don’t understand why she didn’t take precautions the first night,” junior Alice Wilkinson said. “If she knew it was going to be so hot, she should’ve done something about it.”  

Due to Swift’s decision to postpone the show, she was faced with backlash from fans all over the world.  

“I saw lots of fans that took their concerns to social media mostly on TikTok,” Swierczynski said.  

Fans from all over the world were quick to give their take on the situation through posting videos or comments on social media. Sites such as X (Twitter) and TikTok were flooded with fans defending Swift or blaming her for the fan’s death and the postponed show.  

  “I absolutely love and look up to Taylor Swift,” Swierczynski said. “I don’t think Taylor should be blamed for this at all.”  

Swift is not a singer known to cancel shows. Throughout her Eras Tour, Swift has played no matter the temperature, rain or shine.  

“You have to give Taylor props because every time you cancel a show everyone involved loses money,” building substitute Mrs. Carmen Cherrington said.  

During her first night in Brazil, Swift was able to push through her over three hour long show even with the heat wave in full swing.  

“Clips surfaced of Taylor profusely sweating and her skin being visibly red,” Swierczynski said.  

Many fans were quick to point the finger at Swift and claimed she should be held accountable for the situation. However, Swift wasn’t responsible for setting the stadium’s rules.   

“I don’t think it was just her fault, but I feel like she could’ve played a bigger role in preventing the situation,” Wilkinson said. “The stadium shouldn’t have had those rules, but Taylor also shouldn’t have played there knowing the rules.”  

Fans were told the night of the show that they were not permitted to bring their own water in the stadium.  

“At the Pittsburgh Eras Tour show I went to this summer, I was allowed to take 2-3 clear sealed water bottles,” Swierczynski explained. “I went through all my water and my show was nowhere near as hot as the Brazil (show).”  

The venue of the show was the Nilton Santos Olympic Stadium. This Stadium can hold 44,661 people at a time with the ability to expand to 60,000 people for certain events. On the night of the show Swift had 60,000 fans in attendance.  

“I used to work venues, and this should have never happened,” Mrs. Cherrington said. “This absolutely cannot be blamed on Taylor.”  

The night of the show the venue’s management decided to shut the air vents inside the stadium to “improve vocals.”  

“I think the venue closing parts of the stadium affected the airflow,” Swierczynski said. “I know they were open at the Sunday night show two days later.”  

Swift was set to play November 17th, 18th and 19th in Rio; instead she made the ultimate decision to postpone Saturdays show to that upcoming Monday.  

She took to Instagram to announce the decision to her fans only hours before the show.  

“I’m writing this from my dressing room in the stadium,” Swift wrote on her Instagram story. “The decision has been made to postpone tonight’s show due to the extreme temperatures in Rio. The safety and well being of my fans, and fellow performers and crew has to and always will come first.”  

The stadium full of Taylor’s fans began to boo the artist and chant against her minutes after the post went up.  

“This tragic situation upsets me, not only because of the loss of a young bright person, but also the toll it has taken on Taylor,” Swierczynski said. “There were several sources saying Taylor was crying at her hotel.”  

Fan or not, everyone is entitled to their own opinion on the situation; however, everything that played a role in the situation needs to be taken into consideration.  

“Taylor is such a big artist and with the amount of power she has, I just don’t understand why she didn’t take action sooner,” Wilkinson said.  

Swift made her attempt to resolve the situation not only by making changes to make the next two nights of the Brazil shows safer, but also by reaching out to the fan’s family and dedicating the acoustic set of the show to Machado.  

“Taylor is one of the only artists that seems like she really does care about her fans,” Cherrington said. “People need to realize that when talking about this situation.”