OPINION: Lockdown procedures are ineffective

When the infamous “lockdown lady” goes off on the loudspeaker, everyone rushes out of their seats and crams into the classroom corner. The lights go off, the teacher locks the door and everybody stops talking…momentarily. Teachers attempt to make their students take the lockdown drill seriously, but most students don’t and just look at it as a much needed break to go on their phones. The amount of school shootings in recent years is at an all time high and lockdown drills are regular to students. But are they too regular; students are too comfortable with them to treat them seriously. Students talk, laugh and play on their phones, but what if it was actually real? What would happen then? Would we be caught off guard?

To be honest, the lockdown drills we practice during the year become pointless in the event of a real shooting. I think if a tragedy were to happen, people would try to escape the building by jumping out of windows or running to the nearest exit and they would frantically try contacting family or friends on their phones. That’s not even close to what we’re supposed to practice. After the Parkland shooting happened, I looked for places to hide or escape in every class as the reality of school shootings settled in. Instead of paying attention in class, I was thinking about how terribly our school would react if a tragedy actually happened.

Lockdown drills are also ineffective at protecting students against a shooter who goes to their school. The shooter would know the specifics of the drill and where certain students are in an exact moment. Instead of all of the lockdown drills, maybe we should use that time to educate students on signs of a school shooter in an effort to prevent the problem, rather than dealing with the consequences of it. Of course, drills are necessary just in case the worst happens, but there must be a better solution than sitting in the corner, helpless.

Lockdown drills cause too much stress and worry for students. Feeling their heart drop as the word “lockdown” echoes throughout the classroom can be one of the scariest feelings for some, and they have to experience this worry multiple times during the year. For me, I get nervous when I go to the bathroom, especially without my phone, just in case there is a lockdown and I get stuck in there. The seemingly ineffectiveness of the drills and the scare it gives the students should call for schools to reassess the use of lockdown drills.