Signs at each school bluntly notifying of the armed staff on campus, have spurred an array of opinions.
“It makes me more nervous,” junior Emily Young said, “more nervous than if we didn’t have guns on campus. I also do not think that having that sign out there is going to keep anyone who has their mind set to do something like that from coming on campus.”
Despite Young’s feelings, others support the administration’s choice.
“People are going to get guns anyway and having someone that can protect you no matter what the circumstance is, feels reassuring,” sophomore Josh Irons said. “We are only fooling ourselves if we believe we don’t need protection.”
Irons is not alone in his belief that having armed teachers makes for a safer learning environment.
“Knowing that the teachers can protect us if necessary makes me feel much safer,” junior Nick Ralston said. “It’s a nice reassurance.”
Some parents also appreciate the policy.
“It’s a great way to be proactive and to have a plan of action in case something does happen, which hopefully never will,” parent Laura Thompson said.
Many students and parents, however, do not understand the excessive amount of media coverage.
“If anything,” Thompson said, “the thing that disappoints me the most was how it was advertised.”
In actuality, the signs acted as the main form of advertisement, causing the media attention.
“I wish they had just kept it quieter,” father Clay Thompson said, “definitely notify the citizens but it didn’t need to be done in a way that was so public.”
Some students believe there is an alternative to arming staff.
“I’m a little ambivalent,” junior Hugh Devine said. “Maybe instead of guns, we could arm teachers with tasers or something of that nature just to cut out any possibility of the wrong person coming in contact with that weapon.”