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Addressing gun control: a compiled report The Redwood Bark

50 Faces from Redwood: Perspectives on school shootings

The Bark publishes a photo survey with each print edition, and on a larger scale variation of this media, 50 people from Redwood were interviewed on their thoughts about gun violence in the United States. Including a range of opinions from students and staff, the issue of gun violence at schools impacts each individual uniquely.

Table of contents:

1. Anecdotes

2. Redwood Procedures

3. Laws

4. Parental Involvement

5. News Coverage and Media

ANECDOTES

Infogram by Aanika Sawhney

Click here for full interactive infogram.

Nashville, 2023.

Article By Sydney Johnson

March 27. Nashville, Tennessee. In just minutes, six were brutally killed. A custodian. A substitute teacher. The head of the school, shot when confronting the killer. Three nine-year-old students, never returning home. The attacker, Audrey Hale, legally purchased seven firearms and calculated the event for months, shooting through the locked glass doors of The Covenant School where the victims would meet their death after 14 minutes.

For former students and twins Scotia and Olivia Curleigh, who attended Redwood in freshman year and are currently juniors, this massacre was just a 10 minute (four mile) drive from their new school. Both remember the whispers that swarmed their classrooms after their school was informed of the incident and had to take immediate security measures to ensure safety.

“About 30 minutes after the shooting, we were on an external lockdown, which meant shutting and locking the outdoor entrances,” Olivia said.

In order to prevent horrors such as this shooting in the future, it became mandatory for all Nashville schools to hire additional security guards and increase teacher training for deadly situations. Campus accessibility in Nashville is much more restricted, and largely contrasts to Redwood’s openness.

In the days following the shooting, the Curleighs participated in a protest outside the state capitol building in Nashville. At the rally, hundreds of people gathered with powerful signs reading “books not bullets,” and “no more dead kids.”

Olivia explained the increasing appearance of guns in Nashville compared to her childhood in Marin. Upon moving states, she experienced a culture shock from the number of assault rifles for sale and in houses near them.

“There are local gun and knife shops near us, and it seems like you don’t need a permit or a background check, [you] just [have] to be 18,” Olivia said. “It’s surprising to know our peers’ parents own guns. They justify them for hunting, but you don’t need an [assault rifle] to hunt.”

For many Californians or those in favor of gun control, it's hard to fathom a culture or attitude so supportive of weapons. Living in a new state with different norms proved the necessity of a large adjustment for the Curleigh twins.

(Photos courtesy of Scotia Curleigh)

The Lost Class.

Chairs are left empty to memorialize the students who were lost in school shootings in 2021. (Image courtesy of Campaigns of the World)

Article By Cameryn Smith

When anticipating the start of high school, one has thoughts of school dances, friend groups, homework, college applications and finally, to signify that you have made it through, graduation. Students wait four years to earn a cap and gown and their diploma as a badge of honor, symbolizing that they did it. This is the expectation. Unfortunately, this expectation cannot be reached for those who are taken too soon, including victims of school shootings. “The Lost Class,” a term coined by former president of the National Rifle Association David Keen and author John Lott, was created to commemorate those in the class of 2021. These students would have been graduating high school alongside their peers, had they not been victims of gun violence at their schools. Keen and Lott held a graduation ceremony for the 3,044 members of this class.

The legacy of the students of the Lost Classes continues to stay alive. Below are three members of the Lost Classes of 2018, 2022 and 2024 that continue to be remembered for their impacts on their respective communities.

Madisyn Baldwin

Madisyn Baldwin was 17 when she was fatally shot at Oxford High School in Michigan, in 2021. She was supposed to graduate in 2022. In an interview with Detroit’s local news channel, WXYZ, Nicole Beausoleil, Baldwin’s mother, reflected on how much she missed her daughter and hopes her legacy can continue.

“I question why every day, why her? Why the other three? She was so exceptional in this world that she needed to be in another,” Beausoleil said.

Baldwin was also a great older sister to her younger brother with autism, something Beausoleil cherished dearly.

“She was always the calm to the storm. She was like a second mom to him. She understood him, she got him,” Beausoleil said.

According to WXYZ, Baldwin’s family has raised money for autism awareness, sold t-shirts and planted a tree in her name, hoping to keep her spirit alive.

(Photo courtesy of Find A Grave memorial)

Daniel Barden

Daniel Barden was only 7 years old when he passed away in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut. He would have graduated in 2024, and in an article and interview published by ABC News, Barden’s father, Mark Barden, remembers him as a special kid with the warmest heart.

“Our son had so much love to give to this world," Mark said. “He was supposed to have a whole lifetime of bringing that light to [the people].”

Barden’s mother, Jackie Barden, also touched on how others viewed him during an interview with Katie Couric, on her show “Katie.”

“Our neighbors always said, 'He's like an old soul,'" Jackie said.

Barden had a lot ahead of him as he would have been a current high school junior. While he does not get the chance to walk the stage next year, his spirit will continue to live on through the ‘What Would Daniel Do?’ foundation his family started, which helps encourage others to live just how Daniel did: brave and kind hearted.

(Photo courtesy of NewsTimes)

Nicholas Dworet

Nicholas Dworet was 17 when he was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida. He was a senior in 2018, planning to graduate and go to the University of Indianapolis for swimming. He would have graduated from college last year. In an interview with The Eagle Eye, his school’s newspaper, Dworet’s family honored him and reflected on his ability to make an impact on this world.

“He was a very lovable person. He would always say ‘I love you,’ hug you and kiss you,” his mother Annika Dworet said. “In the swim club, he would also speak to the quiet kid, not just to the ones he was having fun with.”

After his passing, his personality and aura still shines and inspires, as his swim teammates continue to swim in his name, and a charity called Swim4Nick, encourages others to do the same.

Many students, including these three, were taken from this world too soon, not having the opportunity to graduate and continue with their lives. As the empty chairs of The Lost Class of 2021 sat at the first graduation ceremony this program put on, lives were remembered, honored and mourned. Though the ceremony has not been continued since then, it is important to remember and learn about students similar to Madisyn Baldwin, Daniel Barden and Nicholas Dworet.

(Photo courtesy of Since Parkland)

From Moments of Tragedy to a Movement: Nicole Hockley

Sandy Hook Elementary School, 2012.

Article by Lily Reese

(Images courtesy of The Sandy Hook Promise Foundation)

“​​I call Dylan my butterfly, because of how he loved to flap his arms when he got excited. Full of innocence and joy — unadulterated joy. I once asked him why he did this, and he said, ‘Because I am a beautiful butterfly.’ There’s a saying that a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a hurricane halfway around the world. I believe if one butterfly can cause a hurricane, imagine if the millions of people who want to protect their families and communities from gun violence choose to flap their wings too. We can do a lot more than cause a hurricane. Together, we can prevent violence in our schools and communities and save lives,” Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO of the Sandy Hook Promise, wrote on the Promise’s website.

After a tragic shooting on December 14, 2012, in which Hockley lost her son,she dedicated her life to putting an end to school shootings. Hockley was part of the 26 families who lost a loved one in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. After the horrific event, community members came together to grieve and turn this loss into a movement. As a result, the Sandy Hook Promise was created, which is an organization that works with communities and schools to recognize warning signs while also working with state and federal legislators to move toward gun reform. Hockley and Mark Brendan, the organization's co-founders, both lost their children, Dylan and Daniel, in the shooting. The two took their own tragedies and turned them into a promise: ending gun violence and school shootings.

“My job is to put my organization out of business because we've ended school shootings,” Hockley said. “I'm a very different person from before my son was killed. I was significantly more optimistic and hopeful as a person, and now I live at the intersection of open pragmatism and reality.”

The Sandy Hook Promise continues to work efficiently and effectively, even though it’s hard to stay motivated when school shootings are occurring at a rapid rate.

“Every [new] school shooting [is] a personal failure [because] we're in this to prevent [shootings]. So every time it happens, people like myself and [Brendan] are triggered because it takes us back to 12/14. However, [I’m] staying motivated because I know that we have a model that works. I know that prevention works. I see the impact. I see the suicides that have been prevented, the bullying that's intervened on, the weapons on campus that we get off campus and the school shootings we stop. I focus on how to grow those numbers until I reach a point where I put my organization out of business,” Hockley said.

Unlike other organizations, The Sandy Hook Promise focuses on implementing programs that will look at students holistically to ensure every aspect of a community can notice and prevent school shootings.

“Upstream violence prevention is being able to recognize at-risk behaviors, whoever is more isolated or withdrawn, who's going through significant behavioral changes or trauma, or who's making threats, or is bragging about access to weapons or talking to their friends [and saying] that they're going to hurt themselves or someone else. That's what we teach at Sandy Hook Promise. And that truly is what prevention is. Because if you can help someone before they ever pick up a weapon, then you really stop [the] tragedy,” Hockley said.

Following the school shooting in Knoxville, TN, in 2015 The Sandy Hook Promise renewed the call for preventative measures and legislation for gun reform. Since then they have proudly diverted 16 school shootings with their tactical training and anonymous reporting systems, via a downloadable app, telephone hotline and website. Children are taught to minimize social isolation and empathize with others to encourage youth to take charge of keeping schools safe by teaching, modeling and continually reinforcing community awareness.

“I think 2015 was the first school shooting that we knew we had averted and that moment still resonates in my mind. You know, when Mark called me, he'd been stopped in the parking lot outside of [a Cincinnati Middle School] and was told what had just happened. This was before we had the anonymous recording system. This is when we were just training kids. It was validation and proof that our concept worked, and of course, then immediately [I] started crying because it worked. And yet, it's too late for my family,” Hockley said.

Due to the personal experience she shares with many families and victims, Hockley and the rest of the organization focus soley on efforts to protect children. The Sandy Hook Promise is an organization that prides itself on being completely nonpartisan. They like to say they are “kid partisan” and focus on the safety of children and not broader politics.

“You need policymakers to understand what's going on in their constituency and across the country and what they can do to help. Legislators don't create social change. You can do that on the ground with people, but legislators have a job to support and enforce the changes that come through social change, and the problem at the moment is we're constantly fighting. But what Sandy Hook Promise has done [after] 10 years of carefully cultivating relationships and building trust, [like] a lot of Republican senators, for example, [who] have publicly said that we're the only gun violence prevention group they'll work with. Because they said we're reasonable. And rational, we get them to think, we challenge them to push harder, but we're not naming and shaming, you do what you have to do to bring sides together because that's the common goal,” Hockley said.

School safety remains a threat

Students and faculty share their experiences from the center of school shooting threats, their call for change

Article by Sam Kimball

“When I saw the first police officer arrive and heard the alarm go off, I ran towards houses near the school and started hopping fences. I ran as fast as I could and thought everything was real,” Provo High School junior Gerardo Garcia said. “No one knew what was happening, we just felt it. We all just ran.”

The threat took place on Sept. 16, 2021 during his lunch period in his sophomore year. Days later, Garcia learned a student from another campus displayed a ball bearing, or BB, gun near Provo High School, leading to a campus lockdown and the ensuing disarray. Over a year later on March 29, 2023, Garcia’s memory rewinded to that September day as another threat hit his school — a hoax call that was sent to nine schools in Utah County.

“It is emotionally distressing, and we can’t live our normal lives in school anymore,” Garcia said. “We have to live under the impression that there is danger around us, and it has redirected our focus from learning to fighting for our lives. … [My whole school] is in panic mode. … If we hear a loud sound, we immediately enter the fight-or-flight stage.”

Following the two threats within two years, Garcia continues to observe a pattern: under preparation. He worries for the safety of students nationwide in what has increasingly become a common occurrence.

“I fear that a lot of schools are unprepared in their response and preparation in lockdowns. We shouldn’t traumatize students, but we should be prepared in case [something happens],” Garcia said. “It is sad that we need to prepare, but it is the world that we live in.”

According to Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization made up of nearly 10 million Americans in efforts to end gun violence, firearms are now the No. 1 leading cause of death for American children and teens, overtaking motor vehicles, poisoning and cancer.

Provo High School Principal Jarod Sites was involved with both threats, and although neither were harmful in injury, they were traumatizing to all, leaving a mental and emotional imprint on all who were impacted. Sites, who has been an administrator for 18 years, only previously dealt with one threat and continues to understand how the school system is adapting.

“Instead of educating students on our state standards and preparing them for college and careers, we think more about protecting students, which is the right thing to do [due to the level of danger]. … I am not naive to think that something might happen at some point in the future. That fear is greater than it was earlier in my career,” Sites said.

With 46 shootings at K-12 schools in 2022, surpassing 42 in 2021, the government’s response, or lack thereof, to the continuous tragedies has student activists calling for more action.

Ashley Yanet Castillo — a national advisory board member for Students Demand Action, a part of the Everytown for Gun Safety campaign — has been a survivor of gun violence since she was six years old. Castillo’s exchange with a gunman led to a commitment to make a difference and ensure the safety of others.

“When I was six, I came face-to-face with a gunman at my elementary school. A man waved to my friends and me through the school fence, telling us that we were beautiful. It didn’t seem strange at the time, but a couple minutes later, we all went into lockdown, people running and fleeing. … I didn’t really know I was a survivor. I thought that in order to be considered a survivor you had to be shot and wounded or had to lose somebody. But in reality, being a survivor is being affected,” Castillo said. “We are a nation of survivors. … At some point, you are going to know somebody who has been shot or you are going to be shot yourself with the rate of gun violence that we are facing.”

Since her frightful encounter, Castillo has faced multiple other threats, many occurring at Hollywood High School in Los Angeles. As a community and student advocate, Castillo prides herself on being there for her peers, but the lack of enhanced protocols from her district and a distant connection between administrators and students has led her to pursue an increasingly significant role in the fight against guns.

“Nothing has changed and that is the problem. There was one time I wasn’t present on campus, but as soon as they went on lockdown [because a threat was called], I was flooded with texts from students. I am not an administrator or a supervisor, but the fact that these kids trust me more than the district is something that is appalling to me and shouldn’t be happening,” Castillo said.

In Castillo’s role on the national advisory board, she has planned and executed multiple demonstrations and events at her school, including walkouts, assisting with lessons about properly storing a firearm, reaching out to lawmakers and enacting change.

“Right after the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, [the entire student body and staff at Hollywood High School] walked out along with 250 schools across the United States, to say that we were tired of what was going on,” Castillo said. “We recognized that [school threats and shootings] were happening so often, and we were able to come together to say that we need change. Thoughts and prayers are not enough from our lawmakers anymore.”

Castillo is not alone in the fight for increased safety measures inside and outside the classroom and for gun owners. She emphasizes the importance of her generation demanding change, change to keep herself, her community and students across the nation safe.

“It is an extremely difficult reality, but one that can be prevented if it wasn’t so easy to access the dangerous weapons,” Castillo said. “It is a [student] issue. It is something that pertains to us, is killing us and our generation, and therefore, we are the ones that should be leading the change.”

(Illustration by Calla McBride)

(Photos courtesy of Students Demand Action for Gun Safety), (Photo courtesy of KSL TV)

More anecdotal articles:

1. Opinion: You must understand the selfish rhetoric behind your Anti-Gun Control stance.

"Another shooting happened today. I didn’t read about it in the news. I didn’t hear about it in class, and I didn’t see any social media posts. But I know one happened. Shootings happen daily in America; it’s become normal..."

2. Opinion: Safety isn't just physical

"Do you feel safe at school? To most, this question seems innocuous and simple, to be answered with a yes or no, but to those who have experienced threats firsthand, the answer is much more complex..."

3. PeaceNovato holds vigil remembering Sandy Hook 10 years after tragedy

"10 years ago, on Dec. 14, 2012, a mass shooting occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School resulting in the deaths of 20 children and six adults. Every year on the tragedy’s anniversary, PeaceNovato has held a vigil in memory of those lost, and as a form of protest against gun violence. The organization’s goal is to engage the community on issues of peace and social justice, with a significant focus on gun violence..."

Redwood Procedures

Data from the 2023 April Bark survey

Learning to adapt: The de-escalation procedure at Redwood.

Article by Dani Steinberg, Stella Bennett and Ingrid Houtkooper

Due to recent events across the United States and within the Redwood community, many students' curiosities regarding de-escalation and safety processes have been heightened. Whether it’s in regard to a school shooting, an intruder on campus or a conflict between students, how schools plan to handle these situations is an important conversation. At Redwood, drills have been practiced numerous times to see what an intruder on campus might look like; however, individual faculty members’ approaches to de-escalation might look different. Responses to situations also greatly depend upon the severity of the situation, and whether or not a weapon is involved.

For campus supervisor Jay Demaestri, providing security to students at Redwood is centered around forming connections and trying to get to know people.

“There are [de-escalation] trainings that are offered, and [campus supervisors] try to go to as many as we can, but the majority of [the job] is ‘people skills’ — trying to always be aware of our surroundings … I pretty much use my better judgment and my ‘people skills’ to get through," Demaestri said. “When talking to [students], especially with all the outside influences in today’s world, [I] know that not every person is the same [since] people’s situations are different.”

That being said, connections and knowledge of student behavior and personalities can only go so far, and ultimately safety is the number one priority. In cases of emergency, both Demaestri and Assistant Principal Saum Zargar emphasize the role of law enforcement.

“If and when somebody is on campus with a live weapon, we go on lockdown. [Talking with the intruder] is the police's job, so no teacher, no administrator, no campus assistant, no office member, should try to negotiate with them. Our default is that we go on lockdown until the police get here, and then let them take over,” Zargar said.

There are circumstances where faculty members can do their best to lessen the tension in a situation, however, the presence of a weapon calls for a much more serious reaction.

“Sometimes people are having a bad day. Sometimes I just don't know the individual and they don't know me. It's always a different kind of connection … I'm all about trying to talk and trying not to have things escalate to the point where somebody's getting in trouble or something [has] to happen," Demaestri said. “Everything is just about safety. If something ever does happen, the police would move in and take over the entire situation … It's all about trying to get kids in a room, off campus, get them out as quickly as possible in the safest way possible.”

In cases of an intruder, any staff member can announce lockdown using the PA system, or using the Share911 app which every staff member has been asked to have on their phone.

“The [Redwood] emergency procedures [say that] when there is an intruder on campus, we go on lockdown. And lockdown means that every single office, classroom and staff member needs to go in their space and go on lockdown — which means, bringing the blinds down, closing the windows, turning off the lights, closing the door, locking the door, getting on the ground and staying quiet, until someone opens the door that is, in a real situation, a first responder,” Zargar said.

Although there are procedures put in place for specific situations, Living Earth and AP Environmental Science teacher Kelsey Kniesche recognizes that there is still a lack of training available to teachers. In Kniesche’s experience, de-escalation was not a part of her formal credential training. Rather, it was expected that teachers would get that experience when working as a student-teacher (something teachers do before they can formally teach a class).

“I do think [de-escalation] is something that, unfortunately, is necessary for everybody to have some sort of training or experience with before going into the classroom on their own…. You are the person who is responsible for being the mandated reporter for certain situations, or in charge of making sure that the environment is appropriately handled when there is an intruder on campus, or something that's going on in the classroom with a student. So, being caught off guard in those situations, I don't think is something that should be commonplace for a teacher, I think they should be prepared ahead of time,” Kniesche said.

Similar to Kniesche, English teacher Danielle Kestenbaum also did not have formal de-escalation training offered to her, and agrees that there should be more.

“The government is refusing to have any kind of gun control, and they put it on teachers who are not trained in any kind of de-escalation, or being armed, or any kind of defense or protection. [So] yeah, we probably should [have de-escalation training],” Kestenbaum said.

While Kestenbaum notes the importance of de-escalation training at school, she also comments on training that the school has implemented after an altercation this past fall.

“There was actually a really wonderful presentation from the special ed department led by Kirk Stevenson. That was really helpful but we needed more of it. A one-off didn't do anything to change my security of acting in a situation like that. [The school] did something, but it was just barely scratching the surface of what needs to be more,” Kestenbaum said.

Kniesche and Kestenbaum also acknowledge that within the school protocols, it is still important to understand the layout of your classroom in order to plan for the unexpected.

“I would follow the protocol I'm supposed to depending on what's going on, whether that's to get out of the building, or to stay in place until I know that there is a safe way to get out of the room,” Kniesche said. “I need to be aware of where my emergency materials are, where my exits are and where the safest place in the classroom is based on what my doorways are.”

Regardless of the procedures that are put in place, Zargar recognizes that not all circumstances can be planned for.

“I believe that we have good procedures. I believe that our teachers and our students do a good job at practicing those procedures. I believe that we are prepared to respond to an intruder on campus who might be out to harm people. How it happens in reality is anyone's guess,” Zargar said. “All of our emergency procedures were developed in partnership with local law enforcement a couple years ago, but in a real situation, anything could happen.”

(Illustration by Calla McBride)

More Redwood procedural articles:

1. Fight or flight: The psychological side to active shooter drills

"Imagine an announcement comes over the loudspeaker that an active shooter is on campus. The lights turn off, doors lock and every student sits under a desk or in an obscure location in their classroom. It is frightening, the idea of being unsafe at your very own school, frightening enough that a student might feel glued to the floor, unable to move..."

2. Opinion: We are at risk; Redwood needs more effective school shooting protocols

"In 2021, there were a total of 34 U.S. school shootings ending in severe injuries or deaths, according to Education Week. In the first month of 2022, there were four active shooter incidents nationally on school campuses. As the number of school shootings surges, the probability of one occurring in a nearby school is more likely than most want to believe..."

3. Share911 application rolls out within TUHSD

"One of the new safety procedures that has been implemented for Redwood staff this year is a communication software application called Share911. This software allows teachers and staff to communicate instantly with each other in event of an emergency. Users broadcast emergency alerts to recipients within their organization while notifying 911 at the same time, according to the application’s website..."

Laws

(Image courtesy of Pinterest)
Infographic by Gil Ladetzky, Jordan Kimball and Sophia Buckholtz
Infographic by Gil Ladetzky, Jordan Kimball and Sophia Buckholtz

Description by Gil Ladetzky, Jordan Kimball and Sophia Buckholtz

School shootings are a devastating and all-too-frequent occurrence in the United States. Often the individuals behind these tragic events obtain their firearms by legally purchasing them, stealing them or receiving them as gifts from family members or friends.

In terms of legal protections, the U.S. has a series of gun laws that vary by state and area, but often these laws contain loopholes that allow individuals to surpass the restrictions. Specifically in California, the California Penal Code section 30105 requires background checks for all firearm purchases from licensed dealers. However, private sales and transfers between individuals are not subject to these same regulations, allowing individuals to get their hands on firearms without a thorough check. In addition, some states have added measures to manage access to firearms, such as waiting periods and restrictions on the sale of certain types of guns.

Despite these laws in place, there are still holes in the system that allow individuals who may be at risk of committing violence to obtain guns. For example, people who have been sent to a mental health facility or deemed unfit to stand trial may be able to purchase firearms if their record has not been entered into the national background check system.

Addressing the issue of gun violence in schools and other settings requires an approach that includes legal and societal changes. Stricter gun laws, improved mental health services and stronger efforts to identify individuals who may be at risk of committing violence, are all potential methods to help take action in preventing future tragedies.

(Infographic by Harrison Lapic)
(Infographic by Will Parsons)

More law related articles:

1. Opinion: Your thoughts and prayers won’t bring them back

"On March 27, at 10:13 a.m., the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department received a call that reported sounds of gunshots at the local Covenant School. By the end of the day, Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Mike Hill, Cynthia Peak and Katherine Koonce were identified as the six victims whose lives were taken in this tragic, yet recurring event. The following day, on March 28, Republican Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett responded to the massacre with an opinion that was both devastating and insulting to those who lost their loved ones..."

2. Opinion: The importance of equitable gun control

"Gun control is often presented as a “fix-all” solution to gun violence. Many proponents of gun control hope that banning semi-automatic rifles or enforcing background checks will end gun violence completely. While gun control can limit gun violence, the police system that would enforce any gun control is steeped in a culture of violence and racism, and has deep ties to far-right organizations. Therefore, any gun control policies must be accompanied by a restructuring of our criminal justice system to ensure gun control policies don’t inadvertently worsen systemic inequalities..."

3. Investigative Journalism: How hard is it to buy a gun in California as an 18 year old?

"In today’s world, being a student can come with terrifying consequences. Along with the many obstacles that students face, one of the most pressing is the prevalence of gun violence in schools and communities across America..."

Parental Involvement

Opinion: Educators must acknowledge Generation Z’s collective trauma

Podcast by Caitlin Beard

(Illustration by Calla McBride)

Forty-two percent of Generation Z has been diagnosed with a mental health condition, according to a 2022 survey by Harmony Healthcare IT. This number is sobering, yet not surprising given that Generation Z has watched the United States undergo a global pandemic, daily school shootings, toxic social media culture and unprecedented political division. There is a general feeling of unsafety in the world that even extends to the classroom. Generation Z’s collective trauma must be taken into consideration by teachers when it comes to creating a safe and trauma-informed learning environment.

Opinion: Where did it go wrong? Taunting to bullets.

Article by Gabriella Rouas and Lillian Hakimi

April 20, 1999, marked the horrific day when 12 students and one teacher were murdered at Columbine High School in Colorado. Shooters Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were brutally bullied by other students before they carried out their massacre. In videotapes the shooters created the night before Harris said, “People constantly make fun of my face, my hair [and] my shirts.” Klebold added, “I’m going to kill you all. You’ve been giving us shit for years.”

During their high school experience, Harris and Klebold endured constant homophobic bullying with various slurs being thrown at them, which manifested into hatred towards their school and everyone in it.

Columbine student Evan Tood remarked after the shooting, “Sure we teased them. But what do you expect from kids who come to school with weird hairdos and horns on their hats? It’s not just jocks; the whole school’s disgusted with them. They’re a bunch of homos. . . . If you want to get rid of someone, usually you tease ’em. So the whole school would call them homos.”

Since 1970, 2,032 school shootings have occurred in the United States and these numbers are continuing to increase. The Columbine shooting is just one of the hundreds of examples where a negative school environment combined with a hyper-masculine society produced white male school shooters in America. It is the school administration, teachers, peers and parents' responsibility to monitor students for potential warning signs displayed by shooters to prevent another tragedy.

According to the research paper Adolescent Masculinity, Homophobia and Violence by Michael Kimmel and Matthew Mahler, when school bullying targets everything that fragile men try to protect, it instills intense rage and a need for revenge. “Their tales are the tales of boys who did not measure up to the norms of hegemonic masculinity. Thus, in our view, these boys are not psychopathological deviants but rather over conformists to a particular normative construction of masculinity, a construction that defines violence as a legitimate response to a perceived humiliation.” While bullying is not the primary reason for school shootings, it adds strain and pressure to already unstable individuals and fosters a need for those individuals, particularly boys, to take revenge on their harassers.

According to the study, almost all school shooters have had a high school history of being constantly beaten up, and have experienced violent verbal bullying. In multiple cases, this included accusing the perpetrator of being gay and targeting his sexuality. It is hard to label the shooters as gay; most were not. Instead, these boys were being bullied for not fitting the social norm and being “too different” for their high schools. Homophobic bullying creates gender pressure in which young men are constantly trying to measure up to masculine ideals. In our society, young men are always trying to attain attributes like power, violence and domination.. When men are rewarded and praised for meeting these traditional masculine ideals, including both physical and mental presentation, any deviation from those idealse instantly creates potential targets for homophobic bullying. Many young men associate homosexuality with femininity, which is why, in many situations, homophobic bullying can cause such offense towards those individuals. This fear can lead to young men feeling the need to overcompensate for their masculinity through violence.

When it comes to combating homophobic bullying, it is imperative to address the root of the problem: societal constructs of gender and stereotypes about sexuality. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) emphasizes the importance of having an inclusive curriculum to tackle homophobic bullying. Discussions in class can not only make LGBTQ+ students feel safer but also “creates opportunities for all students to gain a more complex and authentic understanding of the world around them,” fostering a safer school climate. Furthermore, curriculum and school policy must go hand in hand, and school administrations must not take the issue of bullying lightly. In fact, GLSEN recommends school policy as an effective tool to prevent bullying.

“Anti-bullying policies that are comprehensive and specifically include protections based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression can help in addressing and preventing bullying and harassment,” GLSEN said.

Educating youth about the constructs of gender and sexuality is important to combat the fear of being labeled as “gay” which is deeply embedded into our society. The horror of even being associated with a lesser version of masculinity continues to plague school environments and the safety of those who walk the halls. Addressing this within the school curriculum and pushing the issue into mainstream media, while showing its deadly consequences, will also educate the public on factors that lead to school shootings, ultimately helping to prevent more bloodshed.

More parental involvement articles:

1. Opinion: Dear parents: It's not your fault

"Dear parents,

Their room looks the same. The spelling bee awards on the shelf, stuffed animals having tea parties on the bed, old costumes strewn across the floor from playing dress-up. You can’t bear to open the door, afraid that the only memories left of your child will escape the room, disappearing faster than they did. We see your fears but we would like to emphasize: there is only so much you can do to protect us. For the most part, this is out of your hands. It's not your fault..."

NEWS COVERAGE AND MEDIA

Thoughts and Prayers

Article by Chloe Bishop

"The first thing in any kind of tragedy is I pray. I pray for the victims. I pray for the families. I get really angry when people try to politicize it for their own personal agenda, especially when we don't even know the facts," House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, who represents Louisiana's 1st congressional district, said following the March 2023 school shooting in Nashville that left three adults and three children dead.

Louisiana averages 1,036 gun deaths per year, one of the highest in the country. Also representing Louisiana are Sen. Bill Cassidy, who received $2,870,574 from the National Rifle Association (NRA), and Sen. John Neely Kennedy, who received $215,788 from the NRA.

(Photo courtesy of The American Independent)

"Our thoughts are with the families, the victims [and] the community. We are grateful for the quick rapid response of law enforcement, and I think with respect to any discussion of legislation, it's premature. There's an ongoing investigation. And I think we need to let the facts come out," Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said following the same recent Nashville shooting.

Thune has received $638,942 from the NRA.

(Photo courtesy of AP News)

“Ann’s and my hearts are heavy with reports of two Salt Lake County deputies shot and hospitalized. We join them and their families in prayer and hope,” an April 2021 tweet from Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah read.

Romney has so far received $13,647,676 from the NRA.

(Photo courtesy of USA Today)

“Horrified and heartbroken by reports of the disgusting violence directed at innocent school kids in Uvalde, Texas. The entire country is praying for the children, families, teachers, and staff and the first responders on the scene,” tweeted Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and minority leader of the Senate in May 2022.

McConnell has received $1,283,515 from the NRA.

(Photo courtesy of WCPO)

“It’s truly heartbreaking and our prayers are with the families and all of those children who went through that horror,” said Ted Cruz to Fox News in regards to the death of 17 people in the 2018 Parkland School shooting.

Taking no action to limit gun access, he ended up delivering an all-too-similar address in May of 2022:

"Today is a dark day. We’re all completely sickened and heartbroken … and we are all praying for each of them … We’ve seen too many of these shootings. No parent should have to bear the pain of burying their child. We need to come together, as one nation, and support Uvalde as they try to heal from this devastating loss,” Cruz said following the Uvalde school shooting.

Cruz has received $176,274 from the NRA and represents Texas, which averages 3,647 gun deaths per year.

Cruz then attended and spoke at an NRA convention later that week despite various claims that the convention should be canceled or postponed out of sympathy.

(Photo courtesy of Vanity Fair)

“We are sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of those lost [at The Covenant School in Nashville this morning]. I am utterly heartbroken by this senseless act of violence,” reported Andy Ogles, who represents Tennessee's 5th congressional district — where the shooting took place — in the U.S. House.

However, photos quickly surfaced of Ogles’ recent holiday card where his family can be seen beaming with rifles in hand.

(Photo courtesy of Tennessee Lookout)

(Photo courtesy of The Tennessean)

Politicians must be held accountable for the clear hypocrisy of offering condolences when it is their conservative political stances on guns that allow for these deplorable events to continue. Your thoughts and prayers are worth nothing.

The numbers used above were gathered by OpenSecrets, a nonprofit organization that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying.

The complex legacy of veterans at home

Article by Mayson Weingart

On Nov. 7, 2018, a 28-year-old man named Ian David Long, a Marine veteran, walked into a college bar in Thousand Oaks, California and open fired on the crowd, killing 12 and injuring dozens more. As shocking and tragic as this event was, it is nothing new for men and women like Long, who are trained to efficiently use weaponry in their military occupations and have been exposed to many violent situations.

Long was in the Marines from 2008 to 2013, and worked as a machine gunner in Afghanistan during intense fighting in the Hemland region until he returned home as a decorated corporal. When Long served, violence and death were an integral part of his environment, and even though his role required him to take the lives of others, he was seen as a hero who was bravely fighting for his country. But when he returned from conflict abroad, he became isolated and began to have violent outbursts, which led him to carry out the attack on students inside Borderline Bar & Grill. When Long killed enemies in Afghanistan, he was simply doing his job. But when he killed people at home, using the same weapon, he was known as a monster. His training had given him the knowledge of how to kill, which allowed him to confidently carry out a mass shooting. Long is not alone – according to the National Institute of Justice, 28.5 percent of mass shooters have a military background.

When someone makes the decision to join the army, they participate in a 10-week introduction period known as Basic Training. During this time, they are heavily trained in multiple areas – most notably rifle basics, advanced weaponry and marksmanship. In just 10 weeks, army recruits learn how to efficiently use a gun and officially become expertly trained killers. Later on, they could be asked to fight in foreign countries and may even be expected to kill in the name of their country. If they do, they are praised for their actions — a patriot, a fearless citizen, the embodiment of what it means to be American. But when a veteran comes home, they are forced to adjust and re-enter a world that does not understand the trauma associated with active service, which can leave many veterans feeling lonely and abandoned.

For this reason, David Swanson, who received the 2018 Peace Prize from the U.S. Memorial Foundation for Anti-War Leadership and was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, is dedicated to “creating a global movement to abolish the institution of war itself” through the organization A World Beyond War of which he is the co-founder and executive director.

“We wanted to create an organization that wouldn't just oppose some wars or particular wars, but would work to scale back the preparation for endless new wars and the spending on militarism — which is so enormous, a tiny fraction of it could transform the world if it were spent on something else,” Swanson said. “We wanted to make an organization that would be global, that wouldn’t be a national movement against a bad nation’s wars, or a national movement against other nations, but a global movement against everybody’s wars.”

According to Herosbridge, upon returning from war, 17 percent of U.S. veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 18 percent suffer from alcoholism. This is because being in the military and being exposed to graphic and violent circumstances has the ability to take a toll on one's mental health, especially after being in an environment that can glorify militarism and violence.

In addition to organizing campaigns, speaking out against war and writing books regarding war, Swanson is on the advisory board for the organization Veterans for Peace, a group made up of veterans who use their personal experiences to inspire peace and “heal the wounds of war.”

“The U.S. has a massive culture that glorifies militarism, with films and books and history in schools that encourages violence. I think there's a problem in terms of the more people you kill in a foreign country, the more you're praised; and then back home, it's the most horrific crime you could commit,” Swanson said.

When soldiers return home, there is no requirement that screens them for PTSD or other mental illnesses. In turn, they are left struggling in silence — and in the case of some, they are forced to the extreme. According to a study carried out by the National Institute of Justice, there are five traits that most mass shooters share “early childhood trauma and exposure to violence, an identifiable grievance or crisis point, validation of beliefs and the means to carry out an attack.” These traits, which signal an unstable mental state, are significant indicators of gun violence, as 25 percent of mass shooters face depression and anxiety, according to Dr. Ragy Girgis, who works at the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University.

“I've met a lot of veterans who have been through a lot of trouble, and also a lot of families and abused spouses of veterans who think that their husband went off to war as a very nice guy and came back very disturbed, abusive, dangerous and violent. It's a taboo topic, it's something you're not supposed to talk about,” Swanson said. “You're somehow creating a prejudice against veterans when you talk about it. But I don't see any reason why that has to be the case. If we stopped creating veterans, we wouldn't have to deal with treating the trauma they’ve been through if we stopped putting them through it. But veterans we've already created need every possible mental and physical health care provided to them.”

(Illustration by Carsen Goltz)

More news coverage and media articles:

1. The difficult complexity behind mass shootings

"Mass shootings are complex events, often with an array of causes and no single explanation. Beyond the clear motives such as revenge, ideology or a desire for notoriety, lie elaborate and multifaceted reasons that are difficult to unravel..."