Making active shooter safety a priority

Like most school shootings, the Reynolds High School shooting last June caught the Mt. Hood community off-guard. We found we were unprepared to face gun violence so close to home, it seemed. That shocking day helped to force MHCC faculty to take active shooter safety seriously. Many loudly spoke up and said, “We need a more effective shooter safety plan.”

The college’s Public Safety department has adopted an emergency-management training mantra to guide anyone in danger during an active shooter threat: Run, hide, or fight.

Our main concern is that Mt. Hood students and faculty are not trying hard enough to make active shooter safety a priority. We at The Advocate understand that it is now the middle of the term and there’s much schoolwork to be done, but, what if right in the middle of a midterm exam, a shooter roams through the school and all of a sudden we hear the dreaded pop of a gun? Would most of us at MHCC be ready?

Without any incentive, there’s no immediate desire for many of us to walk into a shooter safety session and learn. We suggest that instructors provide extra credit, pizza, or some sort of incentive – something that might persuade students into going. It’s like writing instructors who give extra credit to those who attend a seminar or reading, but this is different in the fact that it could save a life.

On another note, passiveness – the “run” or “hide” options – could potentially be deadly. Just like the passiveness to skip out on shooter safety information sessions, in the event of an actual shooting we should not all be passive people.

Yes, the information booklet lists fighting as our last option. However, some of us on The Advocate editorial staff believe that if there are people skilled in tactics and prepared to fight, then they should make fighting their first step during a threatening incident. Those who have the courage and incentive to take care of the problem should have the unalienable right to do so. Also, in order to create a dynamic of citizenship instead of civilian-ship, those who are already skilled in fighting should teach those willing to learn.

On the flip side of the coin, people need to be honest with themselves. Trying to be the hero without any real knowledge, plan, or experience in handling an armed intruder can easily result in greater problems, even deaths, than it is worth.

We need to be smart about what we choose. The smart thing, first, is to attend classes, find a clever way to bring more people to those classes, and then know ahead of time how we are going to act if a shooting were to happen.