New York Times
Author: James Alan Fox
April 16, 2008
I enjoyed that this article began with a story. A man walked in to a classroom at Elizabeth City State University with a weapon and held the class hostage for ten minutes. He told the class that at least one of them would be killed. However, this man was not a killer, but instead had been hired by the university to check out the emergency response systems. While this sounds a bit over the top for me, many universites have been going through numerous measures to prevent violent crime from occuring on campus. With the recent shootings all around the US it is no wonder that they feel that these precautions are necessary. Some of the programs implemented include the emergency text message system, the lockdown, and the campus police carrying fire arms. While these sound like effective measures, the author feels that they would prove inadequate. Aren't students supposed to have their phones off in class? Would the lockdown prevent innocent students from escaping? Rather the author proposes an increase in counseling. He feels that more funds need to go to this, because if the individuals had gotten help, would they have committed mass murder? This article proved to be very interesting as it presented a different point of view, but I would have liked to have seen more facts. He was purely speculating.
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5 comments:
This is a very interesting way to have an emergency drill, but I guess it works. I would be really mad if my class got held hostage and then they told me it was a drill, but I see the point. That drill would actually be a really good idea because some people think it could never hppen to them and they wouldn't know what to do if it did.
The story at the beginning definitely draws the reader in. However, the author should have included more information on how his proposed plan would work. His article lacked facts that would draw the reader to the conclusion that this method of counseling would be a good measure against mass murders.
I would not be happy if someone came hold up my classroom. I do not think it is the best way to get a drill across. What happens if someone has a heart attack?
I would be very mad and shaken up if someone held up my class and it was just a test. That is to extreme. What if someone in the class hurt the fake killer? I guess the drill was to catch people's attention, and it did exactly that.
I think this is a horrible idea. If someone started a hold up in my classroom I know for a fact someone in that class would try to start something. Their are far too many risks in trying a procedure like this. If someone were to have a heart attack or if one of the studets attaked one of the intruders and hurt them what would happen next. All though students may not take the drill seriously if they know about it. They may take it too serious if they do not.
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