Possible safety measures include hot lines for anonymous tips, key cards for school entry, metal detectors, and police who patrol the school. But these methods are not infallible. Key cards do little when the gunman is a student, and metal detectors and police may simply hinder potential shooters, not stop them. With recent surveys showing that about 70 percent of students still feel safe in school, metal detectors, police officers and key cards make for an atmosphere of danger and confinement - and border on the ridiculous. School faculty may help in the struggle against school violence through counseling and being watchful of bullying or signs of neglect and depression.
Vigilance is good and one of the few weapons against school violence.
But, after a point, vigilance by students and faculty can go too far, turning the well-intentioned into vigilantes. This happened in to a freshman in Wheeling, Ill. in 1999 - nine days after Columbine. The baseball bat found in the boy's locker was labeled a weapon, and he was charged with disorderly conduct. After six months of counseling, the student is thriving at his new school, news reports said. So said Monique, a student who posted comments on the Students Against School Shootings Web site.