June 6, 2014

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the

highlander

Pushed to the brink

Vol. 33, No. 6

June 6 ,2014

Homestead High School, Mequon

Photo by Carly Kleiman

An increasing number of students are turning to violence as a way of dealing with stressful situations in their lives.

By Carly Kleiman, Victoria Shveytser and Alex Talynasky

What’s Inside

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Retiring teachers

Mary Muscari from LiveScience news explained that “There are certainly a lot of people who have a lot of things go wrong, and they’re not committing mass murders.” It is sometimes hard to see the difference between kids who can do wrong and those who cannot. Even people with legitimate mental illnesses are not always violent. Hribal, for example, is said to have no psychiatric or disciplinary problems, yet he stabbed 21 of his own classmates. Many of these occurrences “are motivated by revenge or envy. That’s why many take place at a school or a workplace where shooters felt rejected,” Tia Ghose, LiveScience

There has been an average of one school shooting every other day since Jan. 23 of 2014. -Psychology Today reporter, said, while others may be motivated by fame. “Media sensationalizes the killings, a blaze of glory for the shooters and their name goes down in infamy,” Mr. Woessner explained. Violence is always at the top of news publications; so those deranged few who want to be seen as some sort of “celebrity,” seek out the easiest way to achieve fame; “if it bleeds it leads.” Hribal wrote in his note, “I can’t wait to see the priceless and helpless looks on the faces of the students of one of the ‘best schools in Pennsylvania’ realize their precious lives are going to be taken by the only one among them that isn’t a plebeian.” He just wants to stand out. Officer Lance Wegner said “going after kids is easy and it gets a lot of publicity.” The easy access to guns, Mr. Woessner believes, also contributes to the violence problem. People with deranged ideas are excessively impulsive and having a gun around can lead to no good. For this very reason, teachers in

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Katie Wilson to Nationals

schools should not hold guns for protection, Officer Wegner said. Instead, he suggests that each school should spend more money on hiring an armed security guard to ensure the safety of the school. Many believe that gun control may be the next step to getting shootings under control. This may not be enough, however. Some of the recent offenses were committed using simple kitchen knives. “Psychologists stress the importance of preventing these massacres before they happen” Ghose said, “One step in that direction might be to help the kids who do feel the burden of social isolation and feelings of insignificance, regardless of whether they will ever snap.” Reports have surfaced that the Araphaoe shooter was repeatedly bullied. “Armed and angry is never a good combination,” Mr. Woessner, said. With this sudden contagion in the violence culture, many have wondered if it could ever happen here. “I think of a place I can hide in each one of my classes if an intruder were to come in,” Logan Scarpace, senior, said. Kristina Smeshko, freshman, agreed, but noted, “It is frightening to think this could happen at our school, yet no one should go to school intimidated by what could happen.”

COPE HOTLINE 262-377-COPE 800-540-3139

TEEN and HOME ALONE LINE 262-377-7786 800-924-7786 If concerned about someone’s mental health/safety tell an adult.

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Summerfest lineup

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Athlete of the issue

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A gunman opened fire on Friday, May 23, in Santa Barbara, California killing six and injuring 13 others. According to NBC News, the lone gunman, Elliot Rodgers, was killed during a shootout with the police. Rodgers posted a video that same day, vocalizing his plans to get “revenge against humanity.” Rogers said he planned to “take to the streets of Isla Vista and slay every single person I see there.” He also appeared to have a strong resentment toward women. “You girls have never been attracted to me,” he said, “I will punish you all for it.” At a school district in Pennsylvania, Alex Hribal, 16, entered Franklin Regional High School on April 9 with two knives and proceeded to stab 21 people until he was tackled to the ground by the vice principal. When told to let go of the weapons, Hribal screamed, “My work is not done! I have more people to kill,” refusing to let go. While friends and family say Hribal was a “good kid,” he had been planning to do this for some time. Police found a note in his locker dated three days earlier, explaining his alleged attack. According to The Denver Post, on Dec. 13, 2013, Karl Pierson, senior, entered Araphaoe High School in Colorado with a machete, three Molotov cocktails (homemade bombs) and an array of guns determined to harm many people. The attacker set off one Molotov cocktail which set fire to three book shelves, then he continued to shoot his gun five times, fatally wounding 17-year-old student Claire Davis. Pierson eventually killed himself. Hannah Touchton, senior and witness to the Arapahoe shooting, said, “I think that kids are resorting to violence before even thinking. Kids are taking their anger out on others when it would be more beneficial and a lot less detrimental if they just talked out their issues and got help.” These cases are just some of the countless instances of violence that have recently occurred. Psychology Today reports that there has been an average of one school shooting every other day since Jan. 23 of this year. “This just proves we don’t really know our neighbors,” Mr. Joseph Przybylski, psychology teacher, said. Communities are not as close as they were 10 or 20 years ago. Mr. William Woessner, school psychologist, said, “There is a precedent set. These are not new ideas. They just have been popularized by the ethos of this country.”


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June 6, 2014 by Rachel Rauch - Issuu