Hazelwood School Shootings

Racial injustice against people of colour is an immense, ongoing issue that has not only targeted lives but has also taken many innocent lives. In America, these racial divisions date back to the days of slavery, where black people were denied of their basic human rights because of discrimination. In present day, some individuals view America as a post-racial environment, due to such victories as electing a black president; but the brutal, fatal and unjust events in Ferguson, Missouri prove that these divisions are still present. On August 9th, 2014, an unarmed, 18 year old black teen was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. The events that led to the death of Michael Brown occurred on an early morning where Mr. Wilson stopped Michael Brown and a friend after leaving a convenience store. An altercation occurred which prompted Mr. Brown to flee and officer Wilson to begin shooting. The death of Mr. Brown caused the city to stand up against police brutality through peaceful protest, looting, and even violence, to gain justice for Mr. Brown and his family. As the protests grew, the police used military tactics such as, tear gas, to “maintain order” during the unrest of the city. In recent, news the grand jury decided that Officer Darren Wilson was not responsible for the death of Michael Brown, which led to a larger public outrage not only in America, but also across the

Tuesday April 20th, 1999 began like any other day. Parents went to work, and the children went off to school. Neither worried about the other, or how their day would turn out. But, hours later everything changed (“Columbine Highschool Massacre.”). Little did the residents of Columbine, Colorado know their high school would be a statistic for one of the largest school massacres in US History. On this day, two teenage boys were responsible for killing 12 innocent students and a teacher, wounding 23 more students, and then killing themselves (Miller). While a horrific event, the Columbine tragedy improved the safety in schools by upgrading security systems, improving administration’s knowledge on school security, and increasing

The role of an educator throughout an individual’s life is often downplayed. Their position as a teacher is to help students apply concepts of math, science, etc., in a classroom setting. Despite this, they are seen as pointless and temporary. However, there is an implicit role educators have when it comes to race, and the impact is enduring. Their “silence speak volumes,” and the “students are listening” (Pitts). In Jamilah Pitts’ article “Don’t Say Nothing” from the fall 2016 issue of Teaching Tolerance, she successfully uses pathos and call to action to show the negative effect an educator's silence has on students during moments of racial tension or violence.

In Ferguson, Missouri there was a shooting that resulted in law enforcement siding the oppressor rather than the 18-year old whose life was taken in the incident. Michael Brown’s killer never faced consequences for his actions, which resulted in a protest that practiced civil disobedience, but resulted in violence by the people destroying the community of Ferguson.  Many protesters used this event as a chance to speak up because they were always silenced. These people couldn’t understand the consequences of their actions. Many feared saying anything that the individual had witnessed because signs

As the world recovers from recent school shootings, people wondered why these events have occurred. They are focused on drug use, violent society, video games, bullying, and mental issues to try and explain an unexplainable event. The idea that a person would shoot others for little or no reason gave little relief to the survivors.

One of the most important news stories was the Connecticut School Shooting. Twenty-six people died that day, twenty of them were children. Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza was dressed in all black with a military vest on walked in the school and started shooting, killing twenty-six people. When he opened fire, teachers were rushing children in the bathrooms and closets. A kindergarten locked her door, covered the windows and started to read her children a story to keep them calm. One parent that was there said when she heard three gun shots, she ducked under the table and dialed 911, letting the teacher and vice principle walk into the halls to see what was going on. When the police arrived, they had barged one room and told the teacher and children to hide in the corner. As the police officers were evacuating the

After the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed, 18 year old black man by a police officer of Ferguson Missouri, the community took to the streets in a movement to protest a pervasive racial tension that some believe may have caused the shooting. Amidst riots, marches and other public demonstrations, Ferguson mayor James Knowles has given statements and interviews to the press to address both the tragedy and the allegations of racial conflict and profiling in Ferguson being at the root of the tragedy. Among these press appearances was an interview on the Steve Malzberg Show, four days after the shooting, wherein Mayor Knowles’ efforts to perform PR damage control give insight into how he views the town, and how some authority figures

The people of Ferguson were outraged at the racial injustice which transpired in their city. Too many young black men had had their lives taken too soon by the police. Michael Brown’s death was another added to the list surely not the last and the people knew this. Change was needed and that burning need for it is what started the riots. The citizens of Ferguson were fed up with how the people of the country were treated by law enforcement and decided to make a stand. Ferguson would be thrown in the spotlight for “what’s wrong with America”. The police and the people of the country had a broken bond. Those entrusted to protect the people were no longer trusted.

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting affected the country’s thoughts on school safety in a way that perhaps no other event has. “President Obama wiped away a tear as he spoke in Washington Friday. 'We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years,' he said. 'We are going to have to come together to take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this regardless of the politics.'” (Shock). The people and citizens of this country wanted to be comforted by a trusted government official, so President Barack Obama delivered a speech about gun violence just after the shooting. “‘The only way this time will be different is if the American people demand that this time it must be different, that this time we

Also, people started saying that sports teams already pre-ordered new jerseys. With this drama adding to everything else around the community started making everyone go crazy. One of my close friend’s Emily put together a protest before school started that brought together more than 300 kids. We stood outside even though it was a chilly 30 degree morning. When the principals told everyone to go back inside, a group of 100 students started sprinting away from the school and towards the main street, Central Ave. While Emily spent a couple weeks putting together the morning protest, she did not put together what turned into craziness. Kids spent what was suppose to be a normal school day, running the streets of Lancaster. They stopped at the middle school to meet up with other kids who felt so strongly about the situation. Throughout the school day, students were distracted because our school was all other social media and the news about the event that just overturned. Teachers became worried about the students but the students thought it was a hilarious prank to get out of school. Police officers were even distracted from other important events around the town to make sure the safety of students were upheld. During that day, the group of students were getting smaller since people seen it as a good opportunity to leave and just go home. Considering during my school day I have to leave to go to Harkness for Cosmetology, I even had teachers around the school stop my friend and I and question what we were doing since they didn't want anymore people leaving the building, but we had an obvious exception. In a week's time students who were absent from that day were disciplined

Over the years, there has been many fatal shootings in schools. Many of these shootings have been caused from both genders, and all ages. This following fall 2016, the new “open carry” will be allowed at San Jacinto College, and I disagree with this decision. The new “open carry” will cause more danger in schools. “Open carry” law refers to the act of publicly carrying a gun on one’s person plain sight.

This terrible event brought into question the safety and security of public schools. Crigger recalls, “I really considered homeschooling after that,” Crigger, along with numerous other fearful parents, wanted schools to be more secure and safe for their children. Schools are a place for learning, nurturing, and shaping young minds. But after the shooting, schools were a place of terror

On May 18, 2018 there was a school shooting at Santa Fe High School making it the 22nd one this year. The 3rd within a one week span. With each shooting happening more frequently and being covered by the media more we find ourselves becoming desensitised. Some people start to lose hope with the movement because every time they open their social media there is thoughts and prayers, but no action. Paige Curry, a student at Santa Fe was asked if she was surprised by that something like this could happen at her school? She replied with a “No” then said, “It’s been happening everywhere. I’ve always kind of felt like eventually it was going to happen here, too.” Curry had become so desensitized by gun violence because of its frequency and prominent place on media. Although some teenagers have become less sensitive to school shootings we also find ourselves with others who see the constant coverage of shootings and become enraged. With the help of media and platforms like Twitter tragedies have become more spread showing their frequency in our nation. Upsetting people who have never been affected directly by gun violence. It has allowed for organizations like Students March and The National Walkout to form which are comprised mostly of people who have never experienced violence like

The media controls the way the public views a controversial event. It can create the illusion that everything is perfect by leaving out important information, or can reveal the deplorable truth as the media did during the Civil Rights Movement. It was not always that way though, during the Colonial Era the media glossed over the brutality African Americans

Thousands of our nation's men and women were fighting for their country, yet the media limited the amount of information that they chose to pass on to the public. Each day the media is faced with the choice of making decisions of what news to pass on, when that news could make a significant difference in someone's life, or in the fate of our nation.