STUDENTS HIDE IN CLASSROOMS

College, from page 4

Mikaela Hall, an 18-year-old Leigh High School senior who lives in San Jose, was so nervous their hands were shaking.

On Monday morning, the student was supposed to be learning about America’s governmental system in a course offered on the West Valley College campus.

Instead, they were hiding behind a Wellness Kiosk, straining their ear to listen to noises outside the door, alongside their professor and about 20 other students.

“It’s been quiet so far, but we did have a man try to open the door,” they said. “I kinda thought, ‘That’s the guy. We’re gonna have to do something.’”

Hall’s heart was pounding.

“The man left us alone for now,” they said.

Traffic had caused Hall to be a little late for school. After parking, they’d run across the creek bridge to make up time.

Hall was about three-quarters of the way to class—approaching the Language Arts/Social Sciences building—when they got the alarming text.

“EMERGENCY. West Valley College LOCKDOWN. Armed intruder on campus. Updates on Facebook,” said the 11:02am text which included a link to West Valley College’s Facebook page.

An email from the college, received at 11:03am, outlined three options:

“RUN if you can safely run OFF CAMPUS—No driving cars. Leave belongings behind. / HIDE if you do not know where the threat is or how many suspects are involved, / FIGHT if an intruder comes into your hiding place. / You will be notified as soon as possible when it is safe.”

Hall went with the second option.

“I was near my class when I saw the text,” they said. “So, I just ran as fast as I could to my classroom.”

At 11:32am, a school spokesperson posted an update on Twitter.

“Police checking for white male seen caring [sic] a long rifle,” it read.

The FDIC reported that as of Dec. 31, Silicon Valley Bank had approximately $209 billion in total assets and about $175.4 billion in total deposits. At the time of closing, the FDIC determined that the amount of deposits exceeded insurance limits.

As of March 11, only customers with accounts less than $250,000 or less were protected by the FDIC.

The bank closing came less than two hours after a decision by SV Financial Group, parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, to halt trading shortly after NASDAQ opened—after its stock had collapsed in 24 hours from $176.55 to $39.25 per share.

At first, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin said she was “monitoring [the SVB failure] very carefully.” Her interest would accelerate as the weekend wore on.

After hours of tense meetings, federal regulators announced on Sunday that another bank had been closed and that the government would ensure that all SVB depositors—not just those insured deposits—would be paid back in full as Washington rushed to keep fallout from the collapse of the large institution from sweeping through the financial system.

“Associated with red Cadillac in Lot 1. Remain in Lockdown. Will send another message when it’s safe.”

Campbell Councilmember Sergio Lopez said it was an “awful” situation the students were dealing with.

“Hoping everyone is safe,” he wrote on Twitter.

Around 12:20pm, Hall described hearing shouting outside the door and some people talking.

“It’s hard to hear,” they said. “No gunshots yet.”

Hall saw some men walk past the classroom. Their professor investigated and “said it looked like officers escorting someone.”

Hall is part of the College Advantage program, for Seniors who have a grade point average of 3.8 or higher.

It allows them to complete their senior year at West Valley College, taking courses not offered at Leigh High School.

Hall was supposed to be headed to Trigonometry at 12:30pm, not cowering behind a kiosk filled with masks.

There was no resolution by 12:43pm, when West Valley gave the next public update.

“Police still searching campus,” the school spokesperson tweeted. “West Valley stay in lockdown.”

Yellen announced in a joint statement with the regulators that “depositors will have access to all of their money” starting March 13 and pledged there would be no cost to U.S. taxpayers.

The agencies also said that they would make whole the cash of depositors at Signature Bank, which the government disclosed was shut down on Sunday by New York bank regulators. The collapse of Signature marked the third significant bank failure within a week. Silvergate, a San Diego-based bank that made loans to cryptocurrency companies, announced it would cease operations and liquidate its assets. Amid the wreckage, the FDIC also announced that it would set up an emergency lending program, with approval from the Treasury, to funnel funding to eligible banks and help ensure that they are able to “meet the needs” of all their depositors.

On Monday, March 13, two more banks with strong Silicon Valley connections, Bridge Bank of San Jose and First Republic Bank of San Francisco, saw their stock prices plummet, then rebound slightly later in the day.

Just after 1pm, Hall remained trapped in the classroom.

“It’s mostly silent,” Hall said. “No one’s crying. My professor has been calm the entire time and checking on students/the situation.”

Then, about 1:30pm, good news arrived from the intercom system.

The lockdown had ended and they were free to go.

“I’m relieved that it’s over,” they said. “I’m glad everyone is OK.”

At 1:36pm, the West Valley College spokesperson confirmed on Twitter the campus had been deemed safe.

“The lockdown is over,” a follow-up message read. “Two suspects detained. Replica firearm ONLY.”

Hall was annoyed.

“These people caused so much panic with no actual threat,” they said. “It’s sickening.”

A few minutes after the “ALL CLEAR” was issued, Hall decided to head to their car to hydrate. Classes had been canceled for the day.

Bay City News contributed to this article.