Active shooter drills can cause distress in college students

Teachers’ unions are calling for an end to active shooter drills at schools that involve students, especially those that are unannounced and contain role-playing exercises that lead participants to believe the situation is real. These drills come in response to a series of mass shootings perpetrated over the last several years, and fears that persist, whether real or imaginary, are causing districts to overreact and allow the security industry to escalate the use of live drills, at a great cost to participants, taxpayers, and private institutions.

TheTrace.org reported that “a 2018 contract for Alisal Union County School District showed a total cost of $32,100 for three years of services” associated with live-action drills. According to NPR, the school security industry is worth $3 billion a year, so there are clear financial incentives to continue and expand active shooter drills, but the cost to students’ mental health must be considered.

The drills, while possibly offering the advantage of preparedness, are similar to the abundance of TSA agents at airports and uniformed security personnel at public events, merely an illusion of security more than actual defense, and the negative impacts, including lost instruction time, emotional distress to participants, and the price paid for the activity, far outweigh the gains.

Most school shooters are students, and the unions’ complaint accurately notes that performing drills where future potential perpetrators are participating is essentially defeating the purpose.

Statistically, based on numbers provided by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, the odds of being involved in an active shooter situation at a school are approximately one in 4.8 million. The National Safety Council reports that a person is more than 1,300 times more likely to die from choking on food, yet there are no choking preparedness drills, and one is seven times more likely to be struck by lightning, but there is no widespread concern, as the chance is so remotely slim. 

Media hype and the use of fear as a motivating tactic helped create an environment where school districts are pressured to minimize liability by including expensive drills that definitely benefit the industry providing them, however, there are serious doubts from participants about the efficacy of the exercises.

If government officials and school administrators really want to tackle the issue of school shootings, the root causes of these instances must be addressed. Gun control is an omnipresent hot topic, and there is no easy solution, but suffice it to say something must be done. There are, however, other issues that must be dealt with, or the weapon will change and the pattern of violence will remain the same.

Following the economic meltdown of 2008, the perception of an unjust, broken society that favors the rich at the expense of all others has led to increased levels of frustration, depression, and associated mental health issues. 

Healthcare is the leading cause of financial ruin in the United States, and approximately 530,000 families are forced into bankruptcy by medical bills each year, as reported by the American Journal of Public Health. The US ranks last in healthcare quality and access among comparable nations, according to the Kaiser Foundation, and disease burden is substantially higher than all other developed nations.   

The opioid epidemic and the ubiquitous over-prescribing of antidepressants, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs, only exacerbate the mental health problems society is facing. The American Psychological Association, APA, reports that 12.7% of the population over age 12 take anti-depressants, equating to more than 41.5 million people. More than 191 million opioid prescriptions were written in 2017, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These combine to destabilize the population while masking the real issues and unwittingly contributing to the nation’s addiction epidemic.

One of the elephants in the room that must be dealt with is the War on Drugs that incarcerates mental health patients suffering from addiction, removes non-violent criminal offenders from their families and enslaves them in privately-owned corporate prisons, and takes away grant and student loan money from all college students convicted of a drug charge. These actions are patently designed to jeopardize democracy by restricting access to higher education and disenfranchising millions in the process.

The cannibalistic capitalist financial system that demands mathematically impossible perpetual growth from a finite planet is destroying the ecosystem, altering the climate, and prohibiting many from providing a liveable income for their families. The erratic economic landscape leaves high school and college graduates in the position of competing with their parents for a limited supply of sustainable, good-paying jobs. Financial frustration, loss of hope, and the stress of not knowing what to do can feel like insurmountable obstacles for the emotionally vulnerable.

A cursory glance at the newly proposed federal budget highlights the ideological struggles dividing the country and illustrates the nation’s priorities. President Trump’s proposal for 2020 includes a 10% reduction in education spending, dropping the total to $64 billion, all the while proposing that the military budget be increased $22 billion to a gargantuan $738 billion, equalling more than the next seven nations combined. The message being sent to U.S. citizens and the rest of the world is that war and violence are superior to intellect and education. 

The Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University found that “U.S. federal spending on the current wars would have led to at least 1.4 million more jobs had the money been invested instead in education, health care, and clean energy.” The study concluded that war spending increased interest rates for consumers and homeowners because it was financed by debt.

It is not surprising that an economy built on war and the security industry demands that all school districts pay thousands of dollars for drills into the corporate war machine to keep the house of cards intact, but the teachers’ unions coming together demanding change could alter the narrative. A cooperative effort that recognizes the importance of common sense, compassion, dignity, and respect becoming integral aspects of our national character is the first step in overcoming senseless violence and the divide and conquer strategy that politicians and the corporate media have successfully waged against the people. Together, we can achieve peace and prosperity, but it will take courage to look past the misdirection, distractions, and propaganda.