Drawing the Line

Charlotte Rogers | Feb. 10, 2020 | Features

A rise in the number of school shootings in America has resulted in an increased call to action to keep campuses safe. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in February of 2018 exposed many citizens to the potentially dangerous atmosphere that exists in schools. This event sparked a wave of change in state and district legislation in Florida, and Stanton College Preparatory School, along with many other schools across the nation, has yielded to this new reality. However, some wonder where we should draw the line.

Students arriving to Stanton on the first day of school were met with metal detectors lining the doorways to the main hallway and a new policy requiring all students and faculty to wear identification cards. These state and district-mandated protocols are just two of several that were implemented at Stanton in response to an increase in gun violence, drug use, and other security threats in schools. Yet, nearly two years after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in February of 2018, a tragedy that sparked many of these changes, a grand jury and state commission have reported that many districts in Florida have failed to enforce these new policies. It has become increasingly evident that Duval County Public Schools has implemented new security in its schools.

Similar protocols have been experimented with before; during the 2018–2019 school year, there were several instances where Stanton took on new and short-lived policies, such as performing bag checks for students on the one-year anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas mass shooting. However, the beginning of the 2019–2020 school year was different—this time, these measures carried a weight of permanence.

Several of the new safety measures introduced this year at Stanton were not mandated by school administration, but were a part of state-wide and district-wide legislation aimed to protect high schools in Duval County. These policies are intended to create an environment where students can focus on their education rather than their day-to-day safety.

School resource officer Kristopher Bennett spends each day patrolling Stanton’s campus to ensure proper security measures are implemented and students, faculty, and staff are safe.

“My job is to maintain the safety and security of the campus, students, Duval County School Board property, and equipment. This especially pertains to the students and faculty inside, and the community outside,” said Officer Bennett. “I make sure that outside threats or dangers stay outside the property and I look for suspicious persons or things.”

Officer Bennett also believes Stanton, by nature, has a safe environment encouraged by the students. After working as a school resource officer in Nassau County and Duval County for roughly 16 years, Officer Bennett has experienced many different school environments.

“The atmosphere here at Stanton is extremely safe,” said Officer Bennett. “The students here want to be here and want to better themselves. They’re better behaved and more mature than students at other schools.”

Students cite the familial atmosphere created by Stanton students as one factor that provides a sense of safety on campus. The bond the Stanton student body has developed due to shared experiences and values leads students to agree.

“I feel pretty safe here,” said freshman Mackenzie Jones. “A lot of the students here wouldn’t do anything bad, and the school has taken precautions to prevent someone from bringing a weapon into school.”

One Florida state law that has had an influence on school safety is the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. This legislation requires schools to implement new security protocol, such as mandatory “safe school officers” like Officer Bennett, as well as increased surveillance and improved mental health resources.

Within Duval County, this legislation has been applied with the aid of an $8.7 million state grant to provide schools with increased lighting, perimeter fencing, a new visitor management system, identification badges for students, and walk-through metal detectors. 

Another security protocol the district has been using for a longer time is the implementation of code red drills. After the mass shooting in Parkland, the number of drills conducted annually increased. Classrooms were also given designated “hard corners,” distinguished by a red line taped to the floor, where students would be safest during a code red emergency.

“I think we are providing an illusion of safety that we all benefit from feeling, like we’re doing something or that there is a plan,” said Mr. Ben MacKay, a Stanton history teacher. “I don’t think what we’re doing adequately protects us from somebody with an automatic weapon, but it’s a little bit like swimming in the ocean. I know there’s sharks, but I don’t feel like it's a big threat so I still swim in the ocean anyway.”

According to Duval Superintendent of Schools Dr. Diana Greene, these new policies were created to give students a feeling of security while not disrupting the learning environment. When applying the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, preserving student comfort was just as important as keeping students safe.

“We want our students to feel like they can be in an environment where they are not worried about their safety,” said Dr. Greene. “We need balance so that our students do not feel like they’re walking into a prison, but that they are in a safe and nurturing environment.”

Stanton’s administration has also integrated the district’s new protocols into everyday life for students and faculty. Ensuring that IDs are worn and subjecting students to random bag checks are two of several new measures administration has taken in the name of keeping students safe. According to Assistant Principal Michael Kerr, everyone on campus must play their part to keep Stanton secure.

“It takes everybody in the building to remain safe—parents, students, teachers, staff,” said Mr. Kerr. “Most of the time we find out about security threats through those people. Increased awareness of one’s surroundings means an increase in safety.”

For some, these new changes in school safety policy are problematic, as students feel the strict protocol enforcement is not doing enough to keep them secure.

“The district is avoiding the real issue at hand, which is gun violence,” said junior Ashley King. “Students wearing IDs isn’t going to change the risk or number of school shootings.”

Per Duval County policy, all students, faculty, and staff are required to wear IDs. According to administration, being able to identify students is extremely important when it comes to keeping Stanton’s campus safe.

“IDs help us identify who belongs here at Stanton,” said Mr. Kerr. “We can identify an outsider and act accordingly. It’s actually happened several times this year.”

Students also have concerns about the emotional impact the issue of school and gun safety has had on students. For many, the school shootings that occur periodically are distressing.

“It’s definitely very upsetting to see it happening in the news,” said King. “Those kids are your age, and it could’ve been you.”

The issue of gun violence is just one of the concerns students have for their own safety. Some students have grown upset over recent actions taken by administration and school faculty. Upperclassmen have been asked to get out of their cars when parked on campus before school, resulting in student complaints. For some, this affects their daily morning routine. Before the institution of the policy, students utilized this time to prepare for the school day before going on campus.

“I would usually stay in my car until 7:55 a.m. reading, studying or listening to music,” said senior Tommy Pottenburgh. “The next couple of weeks the mudlot changed. Students aren’t showing up early to school anymore simply because they can’t sit in their cars.”

However, Stanton administration and faculty justifies asking students to leave their vehicles in the morning. According to security guard Ms. Rachel Rodgers, who has been ensuring students leave their cars in the morning, administration and security’s focus is on keeping the student body safe.

“At a certain point, there is no adult supervision out there, and we can’t see who comes on and off the grounds,” said Ms. Rodgers. “At that point in time, all the students are asked to move up to where there is supervision. It’s not safe for them to sit out in their cars because they’re not paying attention to their surroundings.”

Car safety is just one example of the variety of precautions being implemented to keep the campus secure. Although it can be inconvenient for students, administration has made it clear these actions have been applied with student and faculty safety in mind. While some have embraced the new policies at Stanton with open arms, others are concerned about the effects they have on the school’s atmosphere and the extent to which the student body is willing to tolerate. For now, however, students can expect many drills to come and security measures to maintain a stronghold at Stanton.