The Sagamore’s editorials are written by a board of writers and reviewed by volunteer staff. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of each individual staff member.

As first-responders and news cameras flooded the campus, students and faculty alike were worried and confused. To many, the emergency evacuation on Nov. 3rd served as a reminder that the high school isn’t necessarily safe. A frightening event like this forces us to question the efficiency and accountability of the security measures we have in place.

Just one week after the evacuation, the school held a lockdown drill for the first time since the pandemic began. Despite being educational, the drill failed to address many emotional needs and safety concerns of students.

The evacuation and lockdown drill served as wake-up calls, showing students that just because they are in the classroom, it doesn’t mean they are safe from the threat of violence. Even though schools are often a target for violence, as shown by the increasing rate of school gun violence, we have not seen a focus on safety at the high school. This poses our main question: are our security and safety measures sufficient?

The school is planning to start using student IDs as key cards to keep campus exclusive to members of the school, and teachers are now required to keep classroom sign-out sheets to know where students are. Will this be enough to protect us in the case of an emergency? With school shootings on the rise — 93 occurring in 2021— would it be too much to ask for our glass wall classrooms to have an added layer of protection? Although structures like the science wing are beautiful, it is sometimes hard not to feel like the school is sacrificing students’ safety for style by swapping out walls for windows that expose the students inside.

Additionally, lots of students want to see more transparency from the administration and more acknowledgments of the gravity of the situations we have faced. Hearing from the people who are supposed to be protecting us only after a harmful event has happened creates feelings of stress and resentment within the student body.

Though Mr. Meyer has sent several emails emphasizing the severity of the evacuation, he hasn’t given students any substantive updates or details on the investigation. Students deserve to know what happened; otherwise, being in school feels unsettling. We deserve to feel safe.