This article is part of an opinion series from the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) on issues affecting postsecondary attainment. The viewpoints and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of NCAN.
Another day, another mass shooting. Monday’s tragic events at Michigan State University (MSU) are just the latest in the endless stream of violent
events plaguing America’s academic spaces. From elementary schools to universities, no one and nowhere is immune to this uniquely American disease.
From Columbine to Blacksburg to Newtown to Santa Fe, gun violence has affected (and will continue to affect) schools nationwide. According to an analysis by The Washington Post, there have been 366 primary and secondary school shootings since 1999, claiming the lives of 191 children and staff and exposing more than 338,000 students to gun violence. 2022 alone saw
46 school shootings – the most on record. And these numbers don’t even cover the countless acts of violence that have occurred on college campuses.
Monday’s events in Michigan came a day before the 5th anniversary of the deadliest high school shooting in American history, when 17 students and staff members
were murdered and 17 more injured at Marjory Stoneman Douglass High School in Parkland, FL.
Since 1999, active shooter drills have become a normal part of the academic routine, and today’s college seniors don’t know a world without them. This nation has raised a generation, me included, who have become normalized, even desensitized, to the threat
of violence and death at school and on campus. Some of us have even been exposed to multiple traumatic events. Jackie Matthews,
a 21-year-old senior at MSU, was a student at Reed Intermediate School in Newtown, CT in 2012 when a gunman opened fire at nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 26 students and staff.
Having started kindergarten in 2000, active shooter drills were a regular occurrence. I remember turning off the lights, locking the classroom door, and huddling in the corner with my fellow students, praying that it was a drill and the footsteps that
echoed in the hallway were that of the principal, not a murderer.
Violence in academic spaces disproportionately affects students of color. The Washington Post analysis found that while mass shooting perpetrators are almost always White, Latino/a students are twice as likely to experience campus violence, while
Black students are three times as likely. Shooters typically target a specific person at schools with majority Black student population, which limits the number of victims and subsequent media coverage.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
What Can We Do?
You may feel (understandably) hopeless and powerless in the face of yet more news of violence at an American school - know that you are anything but. There are solutions to our nation’s gun problem:
Support common sense gun control. Let’s face it – it’s far too easy to access a gun in this country. Reforms like universal background checks,
assault weapons bans, and extreme risk laws, which empower family members, law enforcement, and educators to get a civil court order temporarily preventing
an individual from accessing a firearm, could prevent weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
Support mental health and wellbeing in schools. Students should be able to access mental health services via school psychologists, counselors, or nurses. Unfortunately, recent data has shown that the student-to-psychologist ratio is 1,381-to-1, far higher than the recommended 500-700-to-1. Tell your elected officials to provide sufficient funding to improve access to mental health services for students.
If you do have a gun, store it somewhere safe. Don’t leave your firearms or ammunition unlocked – they should be securely stored somewhere only you can access. The Be SMART program has more information on how to do so.
Don’t become desensitized or indifferent. It’s easy to do so given the frequency of mass shooting events, but don’t not get outraged. This isn't normal, it doesn’t happen in other high-income countries, and we shouldn’t have to live like this.
Where Can I Find Support?
Have the events at MSU affected you or your students? Perhaps you yourself are experiencing trauma as the result of a mass shooting? My colleague Zenia Henderson wrote this excellent article last November in the wake of the murder of 19 school children at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX. It details tips and tools you can use to support students grappling with violence and trauma that is too often a part of our daily lives.
The Jed Foundation also has a helpful article with tips for coping with traumatic events, as well
as how to recognize when trauma experienced requires professional health. While your priority may be the students you serve, don’t forget to also take care of yourself.
Schools should be safe spaces where students can learn and grow without fear. Preventing mass shootings doesn’t look like arming teachers or more police officers in schools or even bulletproof backpacks – it means treating the root causes of the disease and effecting true policy change. Until we do that, nothing will change.
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