By: Kevin Finn

Sentry Staff Reporter

School safety is a topic that is on everyone’s mind these days. After tragic events like the ones at MIT and Sandy Hook many people at Yorktown are looking close to home and wondering how these events could affect them. These incidents recently have caused discussions over many political topics. Gun control, culture and bullying. But many people are also concerned that they might have some impact on school safety and if so what it is.

At the beginning of every school year, all the students in the school receive a speech about our schools zero tolerance bullying policy.  This is a part of the safety precautions put in place for schools all over the United States following the Columbine shooting in Colorado. Many schools across the country have implemented these policies in order to combat school bullying. Bullying leads to an unsafe school environment, which can have dangerous consequences. It is important that the school staff and students take bullying seriously so that all students can be prosperous and successful.

School shootings have been discussed a lot lately by the media especially after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. These shootings are horrific and it is important to remember the impact that shootings have on the local communities, but it is also important to think about how these shootings relate to us. No Arlington school has ever had a shooting. However many people in Arlington still think about these events.  Following the Sandy Hook shooting, Yorktown Principal Dr. Pasi sent out an email to all the parents of Yorktown students addressing the shooting and many students at Yorktown sent letters to the people of Newtown. These shootings draw attention nationwide but also draw special attention from principals, teachers, students and parents.

School safety is a topic that Pasi takes very seriously. He has said that the school plans to create a survey that students will take to address the the current bullying situation.

“We take safety and supervision very seriously at Yorktown,” Pasi said. “Now that the school is larger with all the construction we have done we have revamped how we supervise the building, people have different responsibilities. The building is locked frequently with just two doors open unlike before. We have 16 cameras in and outside the school.”

Pasi is confident the staff and student body will continue to make our school a safe and productive learning environment. He has said that the students and staff have done a great job in the past of looking out for each other and he thinks they will continue to do so.

Following the construction Yorktown has added intercom connections in every classroom in the school so that teachers can contact the main office easily in case of emergency. It has added a noisy alarm that goes off when people try to enter the school through the pool. Also every door is automatically locked when it is closed.

One aspect of school safety that is very new is the misuse of social media. Over the last couple of weeks news has come out that a player on the Miami Dolphins football team was bullying a younger teammate using texting and other social media devices. Some students remember the A-Town gossip girl twitter account that often tweeted harassing messages about members of our community. Social media has made it easier for people to share information both positively and negatively and made it easier for people to distort information. Technology has undoubtable made life easier for people but it has also changed the dynamics of bullying in high schools.

School safety will continue to be talked about in Arlington and across the country. It is important that we take it seriously. Bullying and social media are important factors when we consider the safety of our school and community. The recent construction at our school has made our school safer but it is still important that we continue to think about safety and security.