Last week a new monitoring system was placed in Officer Wooten’s office. The new system allows Wooten to view a live feed of what is going on in the school.

These new monitors are great, but cameras aren’t the answer to our safety. They can show what is going on around the school but it doesn’t prevent intruders from entering the school.

That prevention comes from me and you. We are the key to our own safety. In order to help this process, the administration has already placed rules. Little things can be done in order to protect ourselves and those around us.

Teachers are supposed to post escape routes and the Safety Action Procedures in their classrooms for students to view and know. Students are required to carry their ID’s so they can be identified within the school.

Every door leading into the building should be locked during school hours with the exception of the front door and the doors leading out to the courtyard. This prevents trespassers from entering the school and causing harm. Students constantly prop the doors open when they leave campus, so they can have a way back into the school. Yes, it’s easier to enter in from the side doors than walking all the way to the front of the school but what if? What if someone else entered the building?

Teachers are supposed to keep their doors closed and locked at all times. When someone is at the door, students are not supposed to answer. If a student is closest to the door, it seems logical that they can just open the door, especially if they can see who it is. However, the rule is for teachers to answer the doors. Some teachers have their windows blocked off with decorative fabric and cool pictures, this can disguise who is at the door just in case.

This comes back to the cameras. Yes, they are new. Yes, they are high tech. But they can only help after the fact. The footage can be taken and viewed after an incident has occurred. The problem is what can we do before? How can we prevent something from happening?

People think nothing will happen. It is true, nothing has happened. But what if?