TheLittleHawk Iowa City High School - Iowa City, Iowa - Volume 70, Issue 4 - February 8, 2013 - www.thelittlehawk.com
SAFETY FIRST
A revisiting of policies at home and at large
TheLittleHawk
student poll Should the ICCSD post an armed guard in each school?
NO: 76%
4%
:1
By Cassie Wassink
Yet, while the Newtown shooting has lent momentum to an often dormant issue, conOn December 14th, twenty first grad- cerns about restricting gun privileges remain ers and six educators were tragically killed in strong. At City High, for example, Tristan Wya mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary lie ‘16 worries that inability to purchase guns School in Newtown, Connecticut. In response, would lead to greater vulnerability. “If we were to get attacked, how would we the national debate over federal weapons regudefend ourselves?” he asked. lation has been reinvigorated, as well as local Others feel that if the government is aldetermination to revisit school safety possibililowed to place stipulations on gun purchasing, ties; City High is no exception. Hall monitor Chip Hardesty speculated on these restrictions will steadily increase until this incident’s ability to garner such a dramatic there is no freedom. “The only problem anybody would have response. with limiting clips is “The victims are so concenthat if they take one trated and so young, which is probthing away, it’s my ably what got everyone’s attention,” opinion that they’ll Hardesty said. “I just think it was keep taking away sort of the dramatic innocence of more and more,” that fact that these were elementaNick Freerks ‘16 said. ry kids who on a nice fall day were Freerks cited a in school. There was something situation in Britain, about that that obviously captured when handguns were people’s attention.” outlawed. Within days of the New“The crime rate town shooting, President Obama went up,” he argued. had appointed Vice President Joe “The criminals will Biden to develop a response and always get guns, but head up the Gun Violence Task if they know we don’t Force. Biden has since engaged in conversation with law enforcement -Principal Bacon have guns, we will get robbed more.” officials from around the country, It is these and as well as the attorney general, education secretary, homeland security secre- similar arguments that have kept gun regulatary and health and human services secretary. tions from advancing since time immemorial, On Wednesday, January 30, a Senate Judiciary starting with the passage of the 2nd amendCommittee hearing was held, opening with an ment in 1791. Many advocates of gun freedom address by former congresswoman Gabrielle cite the 2nd amendment and its statements alGiffords, herself the victim of a shooting. Dur- lowing citizens the right to bear arms. Despite these and other pro-gun arguing the hearing, multiple parties and multiple mindsets gathered, including witness Wayne ments, Hardesty is confident that a comproLaPierre, from the National Rifle Association, mise of some sort will be reached in Congress who was questioned by staunch gun-control in order to pass legislation. “I think he [Obama] has to convince peoadvocate Sen. Dianne Feinstein. ple in the Congress that they are politically vulThroughout all of these conversations, the most prominent threads taking shape are nerable if they don’t support this kind of stuff,” proposals to redefine and restrict purchase of Hardesty said. “And that may be harder to do assault rifles, restrict the amount of rounds in some cases, but I think it’s possible. The naper clip, and perform mandatory background tional polls all suggest that the overwhelming majority of voters support these kinds of rechecks on weapon purchasers. strictions in some form or other.”
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It's unfortunate that it takes a tragic, major occurence to prompt schools to really pick this topic up again.
E UR
S As the national debate rages on, schools OT N nationwide have looked inward, newly prompted to address their own safety policies to ensure YES: 10% the safety of their students. No exception, City High Principal John Bacon has taken several measures to heighten City High’s security. Bacon acknowledged that the Newtown Should gun control be incident shed light on some slipping in City High’s adherence to safety regulations. restricted based on number “I think it’s unfortunate that sometimes it of rounds per clip (ammunitakes a tragic, major occurrence such as that to be that catalyst, to prompt schools to really pick tion), assault weapon status, this topic up again and examine what we do,” and background checks? Bacon said. “And I’m just going to confess that that’s probably the case here. It’s easy to get a little complacent perhaps.” In light of this prompting, Bacon has NO: 15% sought to reinforce the practice of keeping City High’s multiple entrances locked after the start YES: 85% of the school day. According to Bacon, this has always been a district-wide mandate, but has not been lived out consistently in practice. If yes, which one? “That’s not a change in policy,” Bacon clarified. “But I think some steps that we put ALL 58% in place to make sure that it happens every morning and that we check and double check to make sure that doors aren’t being propped NUMBER OF ROUNDS PER CLIP: 3% open for convenience and things like that, that’s something that we’re really working hard to do.” BACKGROUND CHECK 29% Beyond this revamping, Bacon has hired an additional hall monitor, to achieve a desired four monitors. Recently, Bacon has worked ASSAULT WEAPON 17% with these monitors to ensure supervisory coverage “as widely spread out through the building as possible.” Part of this “re-zoning” has included a push to always have a monitor Do you feel in the “stretch between the men’s bathroom on safe with the first floor and the women’s bathroom on the first floor... the main foyer being the focal point City High’s of that.” safety With the rest of the doors locked, the goal YES 74% policies? is that the designated hall monitor would be aware of anyone entering the building, and able to direct any visitors or strangers to the Office. SOMEWHAT 21% “Certainly in a worst-case, crisis-type scenario, that’s not going to solve all our problems,” Bacon acknowledged. “But I think having NO 5% someone there at the front entrance, greeting people that come in the building, monitoring *continued on page A4
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7,782 miles A story in photos about junior Lexine Schumm’s semester abroad studying and traveling in India. {story on pg. 7}
Schumm attended an international boarding school, went on a trek through the Himalayas, saw the Dalai Lama speak, and celebrated Devali in one semester.