School Shooting

School Shooting

Although theft and other school violence crimes were more common, in the early twenty first century school shootings were the number one thing that students along with parents and school officials were concerned about. Before the 1990’s school shootings were very rare and therefore many schools had inadequate security systems, if any. It seems as if a lot of school administrators have a, ‘it will never happen to us,’ attitude toward a massive school violence event. Consequently, shootings in schools that could have been prevented were never stopped and small acts of bullying were overlooked and not handled correctly. In many cases bullies continued on day after day with little repercussions for their actions, if even that, and continued to push their classmates’ limits.

             Nathan Ferris, an honor student, was a perfect target for a bully. He was bullied from a young age for being smart. As a twelve year old, Ferris had trouble handling the constant bullying he received at school every day. Also teased for being overweight and somewhat of a loner, Ferris had reached his limits and taken enough abuse from his bully and planned out his revenge. The night before the shooting, Ferris told his friend to not attend school the next day. Because Ferris’s warning fell on deaf ears, the shooting that could have been stopped was never reported, and the next day March, 2 1987 Nathan Ferris brought a gun to school.

             Instead of running into school guns blazing, Ferris waited to be picked on before he shot. Maybe it all could have been prevented if no one had made fun of him that day, but knowing that his bully would be there, Ferris waited. Finally a classmate began to pick on him and Nathan Ferris pulled out his concealed gun and shot and killed the boy. He then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide. This pertains to our topic because Nathan Ferris was bullied until he couldn’t handle it any longer. He became violent and his backlash was against the students that took pleasure in bullying him.

             As a result of multiple school shootings, school violence received a lot more attention in the 1990’s. Tests were taken and people started to acknowledge the long lasting effects of bullying as well as the short term ones. Long term effects included negative social behavior and emotional development. Short term effects are low self-esteem, few friends, and low attendance in school. Many of these problems make recipients of bulling fall into depression or other lifelong problems. As a result of never being stopped for bulling, many bullies grow into very aggressive people, which could lead them into lives of violent crimes and possibly end up in jail.

              Schools have taken more actions since the tragic events that occurred in past school shootings and have tightened security by making kids wear see-through backpacks, walk through metal detectors or put their bags through an x-ray machine. Many schools are also starting classes about anti-bullying or making help groups for kids that get bullied. These are positive steps to stop violence among students and ensure the safety of the kids.
http://law.jrank.org/pages/12095/School-Violence-School-shootings.html