The number of mass shootings has more than doubled in the past 14 years, from six to 13 a year, according to an NBC News report. Many of these shootings occur in public schools. After a recent alleged threat to West in October, the Iowa City Community School District has been looking into factors. These include the impact of social media, the implementation of Student Resource Officers (SROs) and training for students/staff in order to prevent future dangerous situations from occurring.

Biology teacher Brad Wymer believes that social media has made safety more of a concern now than in the past. “Social media has become so intertwined in young people’s lives that it has definitely impacted safety,” Wymer said. “Rumors have never spread so far and wide during my time.”

He also talked about how safety was different in smaller towns. “Where I grew up, nobody locked their doors or cars,” he said. In his hometown of 500, safety was never an issue, but with changing conditions, the consensus is that policies must evolve to adapt to the status quo.

“In my high school, our SRO made me feel safer and was someone you could always talk to,” said biology teacher Byron Butler. He stated that he would be in favor of SROs not only because they would help students, but they would also alleviate teacher responsibilities to handle criminal behavior. West High students had diverging opinions on the matter.

SROs are police officers stationed at school during the school day. Many school districts around the ICCSD have SROs, including Mason City, Davenport, Ottumwa, Cedar Rapids. These sources, which Dr. Shoultz has contacted, had mixed opinions, but teachers at West High were divided as well. Some teachers interviewed say it is necessary in today’s age of increased threats, while others disagree, saying the sheer cost of an SRO would hurt an already low budget. Granting money would be a potential option, but still might not be enough. Meanwhile, the staff must receive acceptable training in the event of different emergency situations. “The staff now has undergone three ALICE training sessions. We did this before school started, where we had the police come in and they simulated an attack at the school in three different ways,” said Principal Dr. Gregg Shoultz. West students, though, would very much like to take responsibility into their own hands.

Teachers who were interviewed stated that they had received adequate amounts of training, but students have become increasingly worried about drills for students. No intruder type drills were previously scheduled for students this year. Butler spoke of the logistical cost of gathering 2,000 students for a drill, and that compacted with the classroom disturbance could outweigh the benefits.

The student body is also opinionated on this matter. Maya Mahajan ‘16, the School Board representative for West High’s Student Senate, identified what she thought was the main problem.

“Kids need more help with some of their problems,” she said. “It’s important that kids feel they are a part of West, so that they will not feel the need to engage in violent behavior.”

A final poll was taken to ask students to rate safety in general.