Security Requires Listening, Caring

Thu., April 20, 2000

Andrea Palpant

America is a culture of speeds and surfaces. We love the flash, the bang, the five-second fries, the flick of screens. It makes for good entertainment but doesn’t solve problems that have serious social and psychological implications for the future.

School violence is one of those issues.

Today is the one-year anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre. What has our culture learned in the interim? Perhaps we’re more aware. And perhaps we’ve barely scraped the surface.

In response to Columbine schools around the country installed metal detectors, conducted more locker searches and imposed more suspensions and expulsions for threats of violence.

Students have been kicked out of school for saying bang-bang to each other. One high-schooler, an 18-year old in Madeira, Ohio, was suspended for posting in a restroom a school-election sign that joked about a bomb in the toilet.

Preventive measures are necessary. Threats of death should be taken seriously. The violence of American youth is not a laughing matter.

And yet, if we deal simply with the surface manifestations of disorder we could be guilty of the same dehumanization of young people often cited as one of the roots of school violence.

When school officials install metal detectors and come running only when someone threatens to shoot, students are again reduced to objects. They become not people with emotional needs but suspects to be reacted against, ostracized and objectified as potential threats. If adults resort to less-than-humane disciplinary methods - and respond to students only when they threaten others - is it any wonder some young people resort to inhumane behavior?

Granted, schools must deal with the outward manifestations of violence. A principal or counselor can’t have a heart-to-heart when a student is threatening lives. And practical responses are wise. So schools are smart to consider necessary precautions, such as hiring security.

But if we as a society intend to deal with the problem for the sake of future generations, we need to dig deeper into the human beings behind the threats.

The most effective schools have been proactive in the year since Columbine. They’ve put into place measures to listen and understand young people. They’ve added more student counselors, especially at the elementary school level. When students feel nurtured and cared about, they do not have to resort to ammunition as the only cry loud enough to be heard.

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