OFORI
Would you feel safer with armed guards patrolling your school?
Prince Ofori
English 1200
04/26/2018
Safety in our schools is becoming the number one concerned in this country because of the shootings happening on various school premises. However, safety of schools is a not non- negotiable commodity and should be the number priority of the government. Having armed guards patrolling in schools would probably make this problem worse, even if certain incidents are prevented, it doesn't fix the issue of what drives people to commit such violence. According to a New York Times review of statistics from the Gun Violence Archive by Partel (2018), 43 people were killed on school campuses in 2017, 25 were killed in 2016, and 33 in 2015. That includes both victims of mass shootings and conventional homicides. The question as to whether students would feel safer with armed guards patrolling in schools can have a positive and negative impact on students. In this paper I will argue against why armed guards patrolling schools wouldn’t make students feel safer.
Having armed guards patrolling in high school, middle schools and elementary schools will help teachers protect students against intruders and mass shootings. According to an article by balingit (2018) president Donald trump suggested we arm teachers and post veterans with guns could stop or deter school shooters after the Florida shooting. While this can be a great idea, there are also concerns about his comments that this wouldn’t stop or prevent school shooting. According to reports by Hauser & O’Connor (2007), There were armed guards patrolling the premises of Virginia tech on 2007 but they could not stop or prevent the mass shooting from happening which resulted in 32 people being killed and at least 17 treated of bullet wound. Having armed guards patrolling on school premises wouldn’t guarantee the safety of students or prevent school shootings.
In addition, according to an article on Washington post by balingit (2018), NEA President Lily Eskelsen García said “Bringing more guns into our schools does nothing to protect our students and educators from gun violence. Our students need more books, art and music programs, nurses and school counselors; they do not need more guns in their classrooms”. I agree with what she said, having armed guards patrolling in schools would undermine learning and peace of mind, hearts of students would be pounding, intimidation would be setting in, students will feel uncomfortable and have trouble concentrating in schools. There are also possibilities of someone dressing like these armed guards which would be at the back of student’s mind. Armed guards in scho...
