On Tuesday, 10/24, a RAHS student was reported to have a gun on school grounds. School officials and Roseville Police detained the student and confiscated the weapon, avoiding any escalation of the situation. Out of an abundance of caution and respect for people involved in the situation, administration put the entire school in a “hold,” meaning that no one was allowed to leave their classrooms.
Because this was the third incident involving guns on school campus in less than a month (read about the others here), many students were left feeling unsafe on school campus.
Junior Max Reichert Boyd feels, “uneasy with the fact that there are guns being brought into our school and potentially other weapons are going unnoticed,” a sentiment echoed by students across all grades.
Still, Boyd feels relatively safe, since none of the events have progressed into something dangerous for the student body and because staff have been able to handle all three incidents quickly and discretely.
One thing that makes students feel safe at school is the presence of BIs, or Behavior Interventionists, according to freshmen Owen Scheck. They are always present in the hallways and available for students to anonymously report issues or discuss things that are making them uncomfortable.
Senior Caitlyn Domagall agreed that the way staff at RAHS handles dangerous situations makes her feel safe. The support of her teachers eased her worries about all three incidents. Knowing that they have her and other students’ best interests at heart decreases her fear about how future events will be handled.
However, Domagall still feels, “frightened knowing that it is a real possibility to have a gun pulled at school.”
Although students do not feel unsafe on school campus, they do see space for improvement in how the school prevents and handles incidents like this. Sophomore Adelaide Marr has concerns about emergency announcements being audible in all spaces. She noted that the “cafeteria, music rooms and wood-shop where were too loud for me to hear an announcement.”
Boyd also expressed a need for better communication but focused more on getting information out to students. He feels that students are not given enough information regarding emerging situations and would like to see more communication via schoology, email, and loudspeaker announcements.
Domagall presented the idea that the community could benefit from an increased “want.” She described a “want” as a desire to transform the school into a safer place for students to be. Although she recognizes the work that the administration has done to keep guns out of the school, the issue does not seem to be as high of a priority for other community members as it should be.
