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Guns on Campus: How do we prevent school shootings?

Guns on Campus: How do we prevent school shootings?

By Santiago Achinelli

Editor

After the tragedy at Sandy Hook, many people have been asking if it could have been prevented by a stronger firearm presence in the school. Some folks have even taken that idea to its logical extreme, and seriously proposed that school teachers be allowed to carry firearms in class. Is this addressing the right issue, or overlooking a larger problem?

Here’s a proposition that many people on the other side of the aisle make:

Instead of trying to get teachers to deal with school shooters, should we consider creating an environment where people with sociopathic tendencies are taken care of professionally and/or subject to rigorous psychological testing before being permitted to own a firearm?

Frankly, neither of these positions are tackling the right issue. Both of these positions do little more than use the massacre at Sandy Hook as vehicle for political agendas, whether it’s the pro-gun or anti-gun lobbies. How can we, as a school, look past the C-SPAN drudgery and find real, useful ways of keeping everyone happy? Or at least content enough to not shoot anybody?

Let’s take a look at Sandy Hook as a case study. As one of the most heinous acts of domestic violence in recent history, it warrants scrutiny by folks looking to make sure it never, ever happens again.

The Shooter’s Profile

1). Adam Lanza, the shooter who took the lives of dozens of children and teachers, as well as his own mother, was also an honor roll student.

2). Lanza did not have any past history of violence or crime.

3). Reports indicate that he was not mentally disturbed, but that he may have had Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism that is fairly harmless and usually just colors the person’s social abilities. His psychological state was not to blame - at least, this aspect of it was not.

4). He did not own a single firearm, but was taught by his mother how to shoot, and took her weapons with him to Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The implications here are very clear. This is not “gang” violence. It isn’t even the actions of an “aggressive-looking” individual. This horrible act was committed by someone who, by societal standards, was an example of middle class values.

The thing that separated Lanza from so many other kids was the care afforded to him. I don’t mean medical care, I mean caring. When someone is feeling depressed or rejected by society, the absolute worst thing you can do to them is leave them alone. As a watched pot never boils, someone who has a social net on which to fall on never cracks the way he did.

How Do We Keep This From Ever Happening Here?

I find that the answer is not distinctly a policy one, but a cultural one. We need to foster an environment where young men and women have emotional support from their peers. But how can we, as a student body and faculty, make this support happen?

Church is the answer for some people. Many conservative politicos consider a lack of church attendance to correlate with a more violent society. I agree wholeheartedly, but I completely disagree with the notion that religion is the prime motivator for a more peaceful people. Community, not spirituality, is what we should be endorsing on a cultural level. Enough of these “Wars on ___” nonsense, you cannot change a personality at the point of a bayonet. Real, meaningful change can only come from the person’s interaction with their community, and how they see themselves relative to the ‘bigger picture’.

So how does the average Joe or Jane help get this to happen?

Simple, get up and ask someone how they’re doing.

Seriously, put this laptop down, look around the room (if you’re alone, go find a crowded place, no cheating), find someone who looks like they’re having a tough day, and ask them how they’re doing. If we all do this, and we mean it when we say “Are you okay?” There will never come a day in which Housatonic has to experience a tragedy like Sandy Hook did.

Is it any coincidence that many of these troubled youths choose to shoot up a school, not a shopping mall or any other heavily populated area? Our schools are where children learn their place in society, and how they fit with their peers. If you are full of anger, and under the impression that you do not matter to your peers or anyone else, what is to stop you from making the ‘logical’ conclusion that their lives shouldn’t matter to you? It’s an even smaller step from that to homicide. The only cure here is prevention. And the best prevention is a caring thought and a warm smile for those of us who need it most.