Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
newlenoxpatriot.com SOUND OFF<br />
the New Lenox Patriot | March 15, 2018 | 17<br />
Social snapshot<br />
Top Web Stories<br />
From NewLenoxPatriot.com as of Monday,<br />
March 12<br />
1. Administration approves walkout, requests<br />
students stay inside<br />
2. Village could secure land deal for<br />
wastewater plant near Silver Cross Hospital<br />
3. New priest hopes to revitalize Grace<br />
Episcopal Church<br />
4. Cedar Road water main replacement to<br />
impact residents, <strong>NL</strong> commuters<br />
5. 10 Questions with Nathan Clendenning,<br />
Basketball, Lincoln-Way West<br />
Become a member: NewLenoxPatriot.com/plus<br />
New Lenox School District 122 posted this<br />
on March 6:<br />
“We had a great week at Haines celebrating<br />
Dr. Seuss’ birthday! 1st grade sponsored<br />
special dress up days, door decorating<br />
and our week ended with a great birthday<br />
party in each classroom! We love reading at<br />
Haines!”<br />
Like The New Lenox Patriot: facebook.com/TheNewLenoxPatriot<br />
“Thank you Mary for hosting and planning<br />
special games every year! It’s an amazing<br />
event! WE ARE READY TO COMPETE!!”<br />
@LWWestside on March 7<br />
Follow The New Lenox Patriot: @The<strong>NL</strong>Patriot<br />
From the Assistant Editor<br />
Balancing safety and reason<br />
Amanda Stoll<br />
a.stoll@22ndcenturymedia.com<br />
The recent decision by<br />
Lincoln-Way administrators<br />
to restrict<br />
public access to the athletic<br />
facilities during school<br />
hours may not be shocking<br />
to most, whether you support<br />
their decision or not.<br />
Yes, the safety measures<br />
have been discussed for<br />
years, but still I don’t think<br />
people thought a decision<br />
would be made so quickly<br />
that the Lincoln-Way Community<br />
High School District<br />
210 Board of Education<br />
wouldn’t even have a<br />
chance to vote on it.<br />
I went to a school where<br />
members of the public were<br />
allowed to use the joint Park<br />
District and school facilities<br />
throughout the day.<br />
Those rules haven’t<br />
changed in my hometown,<br />
so why have they here?<br />
Tragedies happen in<br />
big cities and small towns<br />
alike, and anyone from a<br />
small town knows that even<br />
though the crime rate may<br />
be low it doesn’t mean that<br />
there aren’t problems.<br />
What we should be<br />
talking about is whether<br />
members of the public who<br />
come to use the pool and<br />
track are a perceived threat<br />
or an actual threat.<br />
Are the morning swimmers<br />
or early afternoon<br />
joggers the people we really<br />
need to be concerned about?<br />
Is a senior citizen coming<br />
into the school wielding a<br />
duffle bag with her swimsuit,<br />
towel and sandals<br />
where the danger lies?<br />
Research suggests it is not.<br />
What no one seems to be<br />
talking about is where the<br />
actual danger lies. No one<br />
wants to admit that the most<br />
dangerous person is probably<br />
already in the school.<br />
From my own research<br />
as well as information from<br />
various studies, including notfor<br />
profit organizations, the<br />
Secret Service and Department<br />
of Education, school<br />
shooters have largely been<br />
current or former students.<br />
It can be difficult to define<br />
and study school shootings<br />
because of the varying circumstances<br />
surrounding each<br />
tragedy, but one of the most<br />
recent and comprehensive<br />
studies, which was conducted<br />
by the Secret Service and the<br />
Department of Education,<br />
specifically focused on incidents<br />
of “targeted violence.”<br />
Those were defined as<br />
incidents “where the school<br />
was deliberately selected as<br />
the location for the attack and<br />
was not simply a random site<br />
of opportunity.”<br />
Some of the findings from<br />
the Secret Service report<br />
published in 2004 included:<br />
• Incidents of targeted violence<br />
at school rarely were<br />
sudden, impulsive acts.<br />
• There is no accurate or<br />
useful “profile” of students<br />
who engaged in targeted<br />
school violence.<br />
• Most attackers engaged<br />
in some behavior prior to<br />
the incident that caused others<br />
concern or indicated a<br />
need for help.<br />
• Most attackers had difficulty<br />
coping with significant<br />
losses or personal failures.<br />
Moreover, many had considered<br />
or attempted suicide.<br />
• Many attackers felt bullied,<br />
persecuted, or injured<br />
by others prior to the attack.<br />
The full report can be<br />
found at www2.ed.gov/<br />
admins/lead/safety/preventingattacksreport.pdf.<br />
Similar to what I wrote<br />
last week, which is supported<br />
by the study’s findings,<br />
is that someone somewhere<br />
probably suspected these<br />
school shooters needed<br />
help. If that person had gotten<br />
the care and professional<br />
support they needed, maybe<br />
their actions would not have<br />
escalated to such extremes.<br />
Maybe a tragedy could<br />
have been prevented.<br />
I believe Lincoln-Way’s<br />
student reporting system is<br />
a step in the right direction,<br />
allowing students to anonymously<br />
report incidents of<br />
bullying or concerns of selfharm<br />
or violence. I also think<br />
the decision to restrict the<br />
public from using the athletic<br />
facilities during the day is a<br />
misguided action that is not<br />
addressing the real issue.<br />
If the school truly wants to<br />
continue being a partner with<br />
the community, as Superintendent<br />
Dr. R. Scott Tingley<br />
said in an interview with me,<br />
then I think it should reverse<br />
its decision and come up<br />
with a different solution than<br />
restricting access during the<br />
day entirely.<br />
A separate entrance could<br />
be delegated to allow public<br />
access, or a staff member<br />
could be tasked with walking<br />
down to the facility to<br />
ensure users go directly<br />
there rather than straying to<br />
other parts of the building.<br />
I realize that may require a<br />
dedicated security officer,<br />
but maybe that cost could<br />
be justified based on fees<br />
charged to use the facility.<br />
Rather than spending<br />
our collective time fighting<br />
amongst each other and getting<br />
nasty on social media<br />
or going around and around<br />
in board meetings, maybe<br />
our time would be better<br />
spent focusing on the students<br />
already in the school.<br />
With a demanding course<br />
load, pressure to be admitted<br />
to a good college,<br />
involvement in numerous<br />
school activities, peer pressure<br />
and teenage hormones,<br />
high school can be a stressful<br />
place for anyone.<br />
For those already suffering<br />
from mental health issues,<br />
that type of stress can<br />
be marginalizing, depressing<br />
and unstabilizing.<br />
Just as it has taken people<br />
years to be more comfortable<br />
talking about tough topics,<br />
such as cancer, so too must<br />
we as a society start talking<br />
about mental health.<br />
If our children are so<br />
important to us, let’s, as a<br />
community, start making<br />
their mental well-being a<br />
priority.<br />
Sound Off Policy<br />
Editorials and columns are the<br />
opinions of the author. Pieces<br />
from 22nd Century Media are<br />
the thoughts of the company as<br />
a whole. The New Lenox Patriot<br />
encourages readers to write letters<br />
to Sound Off. All letters<br />
must be signed, and names and<br />
hometowns will be published.<br />
We also ask that writers include<br />
their address and phone number<br />
for verification, not publication.<br />
Letters should be limited to 400<br />
words. The New Lenox Patriot<br />
reserves the right to edit letters.<br />
Letters become property of The<br />
New Lenox Patriot. Letters that<br />
are published do not reflect the<br />
thoughts and views of The New<br />
Lenox Patriot. Letters can be<br />
mailed to: The New Lenox Patriot,<br />
11516 West 183rd Street, Unit<br />
SW Office Condo #3, Orland<br />
Park, Illinois, 60467. Fax letters<br />
to (708) 326-9179 or e-mail to<br />
james@newlenoxpatriot.com.<br />
www.newlenoxpatriot.com.
Change language