Dear Secretary Betsy Devos:

 America isn’t only a place, but a state of mind. America’s lost, hiding in the souls of citizens in our troubled country, and America doesn’t look like she will be found anytime soon. America is heartbroken, her children’s lives being captured far too often while they are simply exercising their rights, the rights America gave them-including the right to get an education. Many schools are turning to the option of implementing armed guards or officers on school campuses, but is this the answer to the call for help? Armed guards on campus is not the solution to gun violence in schools, but an added risk factor, because having an armed guard creates unwanted attention, a scared student body, and an even more widespread usage of firearms in the country.

First, having an armed guard in schools has been proven ineffective before in the case of an active shooter on campus. In the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting earlier this year, armed guard Scot Peterson was on site of the tragedy that took place. Families paid extra taxes so that Broward County Schools could provide armed individuals on campuses. They paid for trained officials like Peterson to do their job (Saslow). Peterson, confused and on-edge, decided against using a firearm of his own to protect MSD students and find Nikolas Cruz, the active shooter. “It was my job, and I didn’t find him,” Peterson said (Saslow). Peterson’s reasoning was that he did not want to accidentally injure a student or teacher if he attempted to use his firearm against the shooter (Saslow). I recently interviewed students in my AP Human Geography class and asked them their thoughts on the Peterson scenario. One student, Anna Chung, had some great insight, an opinion I completely agree with: “I think that if he was worried that he will hit a student, he shouldn’t have a gun. Police officers and guards should be confident with their shooting skills if they have a gun,” she said (Chung). How are school officials supposed to know whether or not the guards are confident enough to shoot and do their job? How are school officials supposed to know how good of a shooter the guard is, and how likely they are to actually shoot an active shooter? Taxpayer money is going to this cause instead of improving public education and facilities themselves. If implementing armed guards on campus is ineffective and a waste of tax money, then there is no need to do so. However, strengthening security systems in schools is a smart way of using tax money.

Security systems in schools should be made a top priority. As a freshman at a private, all-girls high school, my safety at school is not much of a concern. I know that my school has the resources to spend extra in order to have the best security possible. However, last year, I attended a public, co-ed middle school. To be completely honest, I didn’t feel safe there. I can remember my mother coming to get me from school early one day, because I was sick and needed to go home. The school had a machine by the front doors of the school that would call the office, so visitors could state why they needed to enter the school, and the office would unlock the doors and let the visitor inside. This day, however, the system was broken, and there was a piece of printer paper with the words “system broken- come to the office” taped to the front doors. Remembering this causes my mind to wander, and ask myself this question: What if someone with bad intentions-particularly a shooter-were to walk inside? The main idea is, strengthening and funding better and more reliable security systems in public schools is perhaps a better solution to the gun violence issue. Some people believe that having metal detectors in schools is extravagant and unnecessary, but as a former student of a school where a student brought knives to school, metal detectors are very much necessary and need to be considered for public schools across America. This is what taxpayer money should be going to, not towards armed guards. The thought of anyone having a weapon on my school campus makes my stomach drop. What if the armed individual has underlying mental issues that would cause him or her to use the firearm on students, teachers, or staff? What if he or she is having a bad day and wants to take that out on the innocent? Gun laws are loose, and not enough background tests are fulfilled for individuals who want to purchase guns. It is harder to buy a pet, obtain a driver’s license, and get a job to buy a firearm. We just never know what one’s true intentions are. Students in my AP Human Geography class shared their opinions on having armed guards on our campus. “It would make me more worried and uncomfortable to know that somebody in the building has a gun, even if I know they are trying to protect me,” says Alice Palmer. I couldn’t agree more with this statement, as well as this next quote from Frances Wilson: “I think it would worry me more because every time I saw that guard, I would be reminded of all the tragedy and why we have to have a guard in the first place, making me more worried about what’s possible.” Even my sister, Lily Angeline, who attends a public high school that has an armed guard on campus, says, “I don’t like that there are now weapons on campus, and honestly, I don’t feel safer than I felt without the armed guard. If anything, I feel more vulnerable to the possible attack.” Students across my area have spoken (and I’m sure students across America can agree), armed guards on campus would create and has created a scared student body. Our country should do the best we can to keep guns out of people’s hands in general.

It is a bad idea altogether to place firearms in the hands of more Americans, especially in a school atmosphere. Gun usage is so prominent in our country today, and more and more individuals are losing their lives for this very reason. More than 26,000 children and teens have been killed in gun violence since 1999. Firearm injuries are the third leading cause of death among children age 1 through 17 in the United States (Ingraham). After the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, the survivors led the March for Our Lives. In the March for Our Lives’ mission statement, it says, “Our schools are unsafe. Our children and teachers are dying. We must make it our top priority to save these lives” (Ingraham). Adding armed guards to school environments will promote the opposite. The way guns are used in America creates a bad influence on everyone, especially the youth. The availability of guns to those who are mentally impaired is a big issue. It is common for school shooters like Nikolas Cruz to have mental disorders and depression. How are we supposed to know who will use guns responsibly and who will use guns irresponsibly? We can’t know for sure. But we keep advertising and selling guns to American citizens. America is smarter than this. Our nation’s people are better than this. We as a country should be able to see by now that guns are a problem. The people in charge (and those soon to be in charge) must start at the source to prevent guns from getting into the wrong hands. It is up to America to strengthen background checks and make harder qualifications for one to buy a gun. Doing this could prevent tragedies like Marjory Stoneman Douglas and all of the other school shootings from happening as often (or ever again). The tolerance of firearm usage in America is unsettling, yet nothing is being done about it. We must do something to protect the lives of the children, the lives of the future.

Armed guards on school campuses is not the answer to the tragedy and horror that too many students and families have dealt with over the years. Some will say schools aren’t safe without guards. The truth is, we won’t need guards in schools in the first place if we put taxpayer money towards advancing security systems in public schools. Some will say the cost of metal detectors and security systems is too much. You simply cannot put a price on the lives of the innocent-the lives of the future. We need advancements in security in order to protect the future growth and prosperity of our country. Also, we should create a curriculum and training for students and teachers so that they can become better educated and better prepared physically in the event of an active shooter on campus. America is lost. She can be found if we put our minds together as a country to solve this dispute.

            Sincerely,

Works Cited

Angeline, Lily. Personal Interview. 20 November 2018.

Chung, Anna. Survey. 6 November 2018.

Ingraham, Christopher. “More than 26,000 Children and Teens Have Been Killed in Gun

Violence since 1999.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 23 Mar. 2018. Accessed 14 Nov. 2018.

Palmer, Alice. Survey. 6 November 2018.

Saslow, Eli. “'It Was My Job, and I Didn't Find Him': Stoneman Douglas Resource Officer

Remains Haunted by Massacre.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 4 June 2018. Accessed 14 Nov. 2018.

Wilson, Frances. Survey. 6 November 2018.