School Shootings are not a Joke!
A letter to Madison Jr. High students from the Editors at MHS Bobcat Beat
Dear Jr. High students,
Back in February some of your students made a joke about shooting up your school. As time moved closer, the threats moved on to social media. The word around the school was that specific students were getting messages telling them not to come because they didn’t want them to get shot that day. The shooting date was set for 4 20, April 20th, or national weed day.
From our understanding, most of you laughed it off and didn’t think of it as a big deal. Really? That was not the same response most high school students had. We took it very seriously, and we wish you would have too.
Many of us at the high school have siblings at the Jr. High and we are worried for them and for all of you.
“It’s sketchy because my little sister didn’t know anything about it, and one of the kids was in her class. Don’t just act like it’s not a big deal, even if you think they were kidding, a lot of them [students at the Jr. High] knew about it, but they just figured they were joking. That’s still something serious,” Junior Korryn Gulley said.
We have heard over and over that the students responsible for the threats were just kidding around, that they were just joking, or that they knew they wouldn’t follow through. That’s not ok. If someone said it, someone thought it and thoughts become actions.
This is why I don’t like pranks, it’s not funny that people are scared. I think it’s common sense that needs to be taught, but what we think is common sense isn’t always common,” Mr. Gentile
“Think about what you say before you do it, because it’s going to affect a lot more than you think it is, and like think about the people around you. Just care about your surroundings and the people,” Sophomore Katrina Toll said.
Luckily someone told on them. That is the best thing that could have happened, but why didn’t it happen sooner? Why didn’t more of you say something sooner? This is not cool.
“It is not a joke, you [Jr. High students] think it’s a joke. In this day-and-age that we live in, people actually do it. It’s not a joke anymore! We take it seriously. This is the neighborhood we live in and we all want to feel safe,” Mr. Gentile said.
We here at the high school want you to understand just how big of a deal this is. What you say and joke about follows you, wherever we are. You are the upcoming class and we don’t want anything like this to ever happen at our school.
Sincerely,
The Madison High School
(MHS Bobcat Beat Staff)
