'Is this going to happen here?': After Florida shooting teens worry about their safety at school
Colleen Lance
Students mourn during a candlelight vigil for victims of yesterday ’ s shooting at nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland   Fla . on Feb . 15 . ( Reuters / Carlos Garcia Rawlins )  Sixteen - year - old Colleen Lance ’ s English class  spent much of  its  time on Thursday talking about what to do in case someone started shooting . “ Do we try to barricade the door ? Do we try to escape ? What are we supposed do during a shooting ?” she and her fellow students asked their substitute teacher . Lance ’ s classroom in Illinois was a thousand miles from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School   where a gunman opened fire on Wednesday and killed at least 17 people . But the news hit close to home . “ After Florida   we were all definitely like   ‘ Oh   God   is this going to happen here ?’ ”  Lance  said . “ It ’ s very anxious to go to school after a school shooting . It makes you more aware that you ’ re not safe .”  Lance  wasn ’ t alone in her anxiety . After the latest school shooting   this time in Parkland   Fla .  teenagers across the country returned to their own high schools Thursday for another normal day . But then again   Wednesday had started out as a normal day for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School . And it was hard not to think about that . Several students responded to a request from The Washington Post via Snapchat to talk about how the news of the tragedy weighed on them as they returned to their own classrooms . ( The Post spoke with some of those students by phone   and contacted their schools to verify their identities and attendance .) [ A loud   new voice after the latest school shooting : Kids wanting to know why adults hadn ’ t done more ] “ It makes me feel really concerned . It feels so much more common now  ” said Rebecca Connor   15   who attends high school in Virginia . “ You don ’ t know where it ’ s going to happen next . It could happen at our school . There ’ s no way to tell .” She added that report after report of troubled students turning on their classmates “ makes me want to be nicer   makes me want to take everyone ’ s feelings into account .” This type of response isn ’ t limited to high school students   said Robin Gurwitch   a psychologist at Duke University Medical Center . But teenagers are particularly vulnerable . “ With teens   the more stressed they are about these events   the more likely they are to have sleep problems   difficulty concentrating and irritability . It can affect school performance and relationships with peers  ” Gurwitch said . For some   the overwhelming sensation wasn ’ t fear but weariness . “ It ’ s become such a common occurrence that it ’ s hard to have a reaction at some point  ” said Aidan McGahey   15   who attends high school in Philadelphia . McGahey said his fellow students sometimes talk about shootings in the immediate aftermath   and that his religion class had tackled the subject this week . Lance dissected the news with her friends   who are similarly interested in keeping up with current events and fall on both sides of the political divide . Connor   a budding news junkie who watches “ Morning Joe ” and keeps up to date with Apple News   confessed that she and her friends didn ’ t discuss school shooting stories much because it would “ make it feel more real .” Gurwitch said that taking time away from the news was critical for teenagers when a story like the Parkland massacre is dominating headlines . She emphasized activities like reading   sports   listening to music   or other activities that allow people to avoid social media or the news for a set period of time . The American Psychological Association has issued similar guidelines for people of all ages dealing with stress related to school shootings in the news . [ We ’ re used to experiencing mass shootings online . But Parkland brought us into the classroom . ] It ’ s not uncommon for schools to have lockdown drills or add security systems to protect students in the event of an attack . But in addition to physical security measures   Gurwitch said   schools should allow discussions about traumatic events “ in a smaller group   so if there are concerns   [ students ] feel comfortable asking a question or commenting on something they may have heard .” No matter how many safe spaces schools create   the teenagers expressed frustration at the recurring issue of school shootings . “ It ’ s not something we can sit back and say   ‘ it ’ s a part of our society ’. We need to be taking active steps to resolve  ” McGahey said . “ I think we need to work to stop this .” “ It makes me upset that it ’ s something I do have to think about . I just want to focus on my grades and graduating and going to college and becoming a young adult  ” Lance said . “ I don ’ t want to think about getting shot when I go to school .”
Students mourn during a candlelight vigil for victims of yesterday ’ s shooting at nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland   Fla . on Feb . 15 . ( Reuters / Carlos Garcia Rawlins )  Sixteen - year - old [TGT] ’ s English class  spent much of  its  time on Thursday talking about what to do in case someone started shooting . “ Do we try to barricade the door ? Do we try to escape ? What are we supposed do during a shooting ?” she and her fellow students asked their substitute teacher . Lance ’ s classroom in Illinois was a thousand miles from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School   where a gunman opened fire on Wednesday and killed at least 17 people . But the news hit close to home . “ After Florida   we were all definitely like   ‘ Oh   God   is this going to happen here ?’ ”  Lance  said . “ It ’ s very anxious to go to school after a school shooting . It makes you more aware that you ’ re not safe .”  Lance  wasn ’ t alone in her anxiety . After the latest school shooting   this time in Parkland   Fla .  teenagers across the country returned to their own high schools Thursday for another normal day . But then again   Wednesday had started out as a normal day for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School . And it was hard not to think about that . Several students responded to a request from The Washington Post via Snapchat to talk about how the news of the tragedy weighed on them as they returned to their own classrooms . ( The Post spoke with some of those students by phone   and contacted their schools to verify their identities and attendance .) [ A loud   new voice after the latest school shooting : Kids wanting to know why adults hadn ’ t done more ] “ It makes me feel really concerned . It feels so much more common now  ” said Rebecca Connor   15   who attends high school in Virginia . “ You don ’ t know where it ’ s going to happen next . It could happen at our school . There ’ s no way to tell .” She added that report after report of troubled students turning on their classmates “ makes me want to be nicer   makes me want to take everyone ’ s feelings into account .” This type of response isn ’ t limited to high school students   said Robin Gurwitch   a psychologist at Duke University Medical Center . But teenagers are particularly vulnerable . “ With teens   the more stressed they are about these events   the more likely they are to have sleep problems   difficulty concentrating and irritability . It can affect school performance and relationships with peers  ” Gurwitch said . For some   the overwhelming sensation wasn ’ t fear but weariness . “ It ’ s become such a common occurrence that it ’ s hard to have a reaction at some point  ” said Aidan McGahey   15   who attends high school in Philadelphia . McGahey said his fellow students sometimes talk about shootings in the immediate aftermath   and that his religion class had tackled the subject this week . Lance dissected the news with her friends   who are similarly interested in keeping up with current events and fall on both sides of the political divide . Connor   a budding news junkie who watches “ Morning Joe ” and keeps up to date with Apple News   confessed that she and her friends didn ’ t discuss school shooting stories much because it would “ make it feel more real .” Gurwitch said that taking time away from the news was critical for teenagers when a story like the Parkland massacre is dominating headlines . She emphasized activities like reading   sports   listening to music   or other activities that allow people to avoid social media or the news for a set period of time . The American Psychological Association has issued similar guidelines for people of all ages dealing with stress related to school shootings in the news . [ We ’ re used to experiencing mass shootings online . But Parkland brought us into the classroom . ] It ’ s not uncommon for schools to have lockdown drills or add security systems to protect students in the event of an attack . But in addition to physical security measures   Gurwitch said   schools should allow discussions about traumatic events “ in a smaller group   so if there are concerns   [ students ] feel comfortable asking a question or commenting on something they may have heard .” No matter how many safe spaces schools create   the teenagers expressed frustration at the recurring issue of school shootings . “ It ’ s not something we can sit back and say   ‘ it ’ s a part of our society ’. We need to be taking active steps to resolve  ” McGahey said . “ I think we need to work to stop this .” “ It makes me upset that it ’ s something I do have to think about . I just want to focus on my grades and graduating and going to college and becoming a young adult  ” Lance said . “ I don ’ t want to think about getting shot when I go to school .”