Dear Readers,

     Red strings hanging taut from the corner of the door, students sitting in the dark with bated breath during lockdown drills, buttons set to signal the police at any moment. These are constant reminders of the potential dangers on Shorecrest’s campus and schools across the nation.

     As of Nov. 14, 2025, in this year alone, CNN reported that there have been 68 school shootings, each one inflicting unimaginable pain to thousands of students, parents and teachers across the country. This figure continues the stark upward trend in these shootings, with new records set each year.

     We often discuss the toll of gun violence on students, as firearms are still the leading cause of death in children ages 1-17. However, we often overlook the mental toll on the teachers, who are expected to stare down the barrel of the gun to protect their students.

     During lockdowns at Shorecrest, teachers are asked to look in the hallways for students who are not in classrooms and to close their blinds and barricade their doors. All this happens while students are huddled in the corners of classrooms out of sight from potential shooters. This year, Shorecrest added “hard lines” in classrooms, which run across the ceiling and mark where students must sit behind in order to not be seen through classroom windows. Some schools across the country are even beginning to arm their teachers.

     As students, The Chronicle editors see and understand the fear of becoming the next target of this deadly, terrifying epidemic. These anxieties are even more understandable in teachers working far above their pay grade, as they’re expected to put students’ lives before their own.

     We believe that policies nationwide need to change to prevent these shootings and make schools a safe space once again. Teachers shouldn’t feel afraid stepping into their classroom each morning, prevented from pursuing their careers and passions for shaping young minds under the anxiety that these shootings evoke.

      Fears like these helped push former US English Department Chair and English Teacher Jake Seymour to leave his job teaching at Shorecrest after 17 years, departing soon after yet another shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. Losing such a wonderful presence in the Upper School should remind us all that this violence must be put to an end.

     To effectively stop gun violence in schools, the roots of the problem must be addressed. According to the National Institute of Justice, 80 percent of school shootings occurred with guns that teenagers stole from home. To prevent access to deadly assault weapons, better requirements for weapon security should be put in place nationwide.

     Additionally, the government should require more secure and thorough background checks to limit easily preventable disasters. Emotionally unstable or immature individuals gain access to deadly weapons too easily.

     Until these policies change, schools must do everything they can to protect their faculty and students, as well as cultivate an environment without lingering fears of the gun violence that is so prevalent in America. And most importantly, administrations shouldn’t place the sole burden on teachers to keep students safe. 

     Shorecrest has already put numerous safety measures in place to protect students and faculty against gun violence, including security personnel across campus, thorough lockdown drills and methods for faculty to quickly signal for help from their classroom. 

     However, many schools don’t have the resources to properly protect students. For teachers constantly bombarded with horror stories from schools across the country, they’ll continue to feel the impact and anxiety of this danger, no matter how secure their own school may be.

     We hope the future holds a chance for teachers to feel safe and protected doing the job they love.

Sincerely,

Your Chronicle Editors