It was sophomore year, I was in third period, on a spring Wednesday morning. My class had just completed ‘warm-ups’ and were about to break into groups for the second day of our basketball unit. Over the intercom was a commanding voice telling everyone to ‘lockdown.’ In the gym, at this time, there were 3 different gym classes as well as a few community members who were helping to set up a job fair. We all funneled into a large storage closet in the back of the gym. It was nearing the end of the month, so we all assumed it was a routine drill, meaning, we’d sit in the closet for 5 minutes and go back to our regularly scheduled high school lives. Goofing around is certainly looked down upon during these drills, but in a closet filled with towering stacks of gymnastic mats and any type of ball you can think of, it’s hard not to. The teachers allowed it for the first 5-10 minutes, but then the texts started coming in. A few whispers and concerned faces adequately stopped all the rising chatter and messing around.
Time passed slowly. Only some students had phones with them due to us being in gym class. The ones who did have their phones on them were receiving texts filled with rumors about what could possibly be causing this hour-long lockdown. Some said that a student was on the roof, another claimed that there was an active shooter holding hostages in the cafeteria, all of which added to the fear and panic already budding. Teachers were doing their best to comfort students while holding their composure.
The amount of information that we knew about the situation was minimal for about 3 hours. We all knew that there was some threat and that the SWAT team, as well as the police, were searching the premises. We sat in silence, tried to make small talk, and played games to take our mind off of what could possibly be happening outside those two steel doors. We were finally allowed to leave the closet to use the restroom and retrieve our phones after the SWAT team had secured our side of the building.
We were held inside the building for another hour and a half while they secured the areas around the school. Walking out of school that day, to all the parents with tears welling in their eyes, waiting to see their children, safe, alive, is something I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
I was one of the lucky ones. While I did understand the panic, I never felt unsafe or worried about whether I’d get to walk out of school at the end of the day. Yes, it was painful to sit there for around 4 hours and be unable to text my mom and dad and tell them that I was okay and that I love them. It was hard that I was unable to text my sister, boyfriend, and best friends to see if they were doing okay. It was hard in the moment, but it was never impossible. At the end of that day, every person who walked into that building walked out of it. I think I can speak for everyone who was at school that day when I say that we all walked out of there with an enhanced appreciation for life and a deeper understanding of the dangers and threats involving schools in America.
English 110 Spring 2020 10:10-11:00 