Community Mourns Sandy Hook, Conn.

By Sarah Corbishley '16

Connecticut’s horrifying tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary shook the nation’s sense of security, especially in its schools.

On December 14, 2012, twenty-year-old Adam Lanza entered the Newtown elementary school and shot and killed twenty-six people, including twenty children between the ages of five and six, using a semi-automatic rifle and two hand guns.

Palmer Trinity student Kelly Blary '16 said, “[It] was devastating and tragic how the children will not grow up to have the opportunities in life that I have.”

Upper School Dean of Students Judi Jennings reflected on this horrific incident.

"My first thought was those poor angels and then those poor parents who had to wait to see if their child came out of that school," she said.

After the shooting, stories came out that Victoria Soto, a 27-year-old teacher at Sandy Hook, committed a heroic act by hiding her students in a closet to save them from the fate of the other first-graders. This selfless act may have cost Soto her life.

“I would like to think that if that were to happen here I would have the courage to do the same,” said Spanish teacher Mrs. Erica Cerione.

This appalling ordeal is not the first of its nature. Virginia Tech was attacked in 2007, and 32 people were shot and killed. In 2010, two eighth-grade students were killed by a fellow classmate at Deer Creek Middle School in Colorado.

A similar incident occurred at Oikos University that resulted in the deaths of seven students in California, early in 2012.

Hannah Aspinwall '16 said, “I’m not afraid that [this] could happen here because this is a safe environment.”

“We cannot fall into a false sense [that] everything is A-okay," Jennings said.

She asks that the students be actively aware of their surroundings.

“We need to be more aware of each other, and take care of each other," Jennings said.

If a student sees somebody who may not belong, Jennings suggests that they go to a teacher or administrator.

In the aftermath of the massacre, some legislators suggested teachers should have guns in schools to protect students, but recent polls show that more people favor of stricter gun laws.

President Obama reacted by proposing severe new gun laws that will ban ammunition magazines above ten rounds, outlaw bullet piercing armor, and enforce background checks on all people wishing to purchase these weapons.