The Pini
n
President William McKinley High School
Vol. 91 No. 5
McKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
School evaluates safety of students
March 2013
“There’s not really much going on at school, no fights. Everyone is pretty much doing their own thing in their own world,” says Tommy Pathammovong (left) standing with Victoria Koli (right).
by Ariana Makasiale
Recent instances of school violence prompted questioning amongst schools across the nation. After the tragic Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, almost a month later a 16-yearold from California, armed with a shotgun, opened fire in his high school classroom, critically wounding a student. In 2012 alone there were seven shot dead at an Oakland college, three Ohio teens killed by another peer, and three killed in shootings near the campus of Texas A&M University. This makes it difficult to remember that school is supposed to be the safest place for students. It also has people questioning how instances like these can be stopped. For McKinley, it’s whether or not administration has made changes that will have any effect on students. Principal Ron Okamura said, “As far as changes go, it’s more of an awareness.” Every year the school practices lockdowns and fire drills. Those are the school’s security plans just in case. “The reason why we run drills is so that in case it happens, (people) will know exactly what to do. It’ll become automatic.” Okamura says that one change that could be made is to look into hiring a School Resource OffiPlease see SAFETY, p. 2
“I don’t really come into contact with any bullying or things like that,” says Jordan Viniegas (left) with Joanna Li (right).
RS 13-0898