If asked how many school shootings have occurred since the beginning of this year, a majority could not answer with the exact number. The unfortunate truth is that we have lost sensitivity to the issue. Another breaking news headline announcing a shooting on any school campus seems to have lost its value. The news is received sourly with the exasperated and disregarding “Another one?”
Generation Z has lived through the Parkland and Uvalde shootings, which were, arguably, the most substantial in urging action. The March For Our Lives flooded national news and incited many empty promises from government officials. Since that time, a deeper political polarization has plagued the nation, and it is yet to be seen whether or not schools will be better protected to combat violence.
As the number of deaths from guns on school campuses continues to rise, there lies a question: How many more students have to die before action is taken? There is a noticeable decrease in attention to school shootings. Their normalcy is prevalent in how little they are publicized. While over ten and counting have occurred since the beginning of 2024, the normalization has numbed minds. It would be plausible that local publications no longer push out reporting on these because they are no longer interesting to media consumers. Regardless of who is to blame – news outlets wanting more reads or consumers losing interest over the issue – it only raises the question of how many more students must lose their lives for this problem to be taken seriously.
In the past, there have been attempts on the federal level to regulate firearms in school zones, most famously in the SCOTUS case United States v. Lopez, but no notable accomplishments in doing so. In NDB’s local community of Belmont, Carlmont HS has faced instances of actual and rumored gun threats to the student body’s safety, forcing lockdowns, in recent years.
There is certainly a debate as to whether publicizing is beneficial or detrimental to inciting change on gun control. On one hand, there is the concern over giving the inflictor fame or validation for their deeds. However, regardless of revoking credit from the shooter, disregarding violations of safety in a school establishment is neglecting the students’ deserving right to an education. Students, in any grade, deserve to learn and should not have to not risk their lives for it. The fear of a school shooting remains unresolved and lamentably, the lives cost at the expense of school shooting grows on.
