BY SUMMER CRANDALL

My mother tells me all the time that her generation never had to face or even witness what mine does. A school shooting happened in 1999 famously known as Columbine, this wasn’t a normal event and even though it was seen, it wasn’t directly a huge concern.

Schools over the past years have only become more unsafe, according to a k-12 shooting data base “the highest number of annual school shootings over the past six decades came in 2021-2024.” But why?

We see violence everywhere on our streets, in our workplaces and sadly enough schools. 

Kara Arundel, a k-12 Senior Reporter said in an article “Most on-campus shootings occurred due to fights that escalated into gun violence. That mirrors the trend of recent years.” 

This isn’t just people dying, it’s usually a call to help. Unwell children are committing heinous crimes against one another without fully seeing what it does to society, teachers and the students. not just the ones attending the schools that see this violence but across the country.

We need better funding to keep these lethal weapons out of possession. Especially on school grounds. We as a country need to take a stand. Our government and its people need to offer a solution, not just drills. We need more attention allocated on emotional intelligence so students don’t just react but respond to how they feel. 

First, implement comprehensive prevention programs. This means stronger background checks and safe storage laws to keep guns out of the hands of students, as well as increased funding for school security that prioritizes prevention over reaction.

Second, invest directly in students’ well-being. We must expand access to school counselors, psychologists, and programs that build emotional health. Teaching students how to process anger, stress, and conflict in healthy ways can reduce the likelihood of violence before it starts. 

Every second we delay we put thousands of teachers, students and families at risk. The silenced voices will act out. In anger. In violence. In hatred.