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March 23, 2005
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| Teacher Margo Hinke discussed school safety issues with her students. (MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire) |
St. Paul, Minn. — Red Lake Senior High went into lockdown mode as its tragedy unfolded. Lockdown is supposed to protect students and staff from danger. Teachers clear all the hallways, close and lock classroom doors, lower window shades and turn off lights. Students are to stay away from windows and remain quiet.
Humboldt Senior High Principal John Bianchi says the Red Lake shootings convinced him it was time to give his 800 students a safety refresher.
"The students need to know that we care about them," Bianchi said. "They need to know that we're always trying to make this place a safe, secure place to go."
The lessons ended early during first hour classes as teacher Margo Hinke prepared her Spanish-2 class for a different kind of test.
"I just want you to know, the reason we're doing this of course is we want to keep you all as safe as possible," Hinke said. "We want to keep things calm and safe. And this is the best way to do it is keep everyone contained in one room and very quiet."
The practice lockdown began with an intercom announcement from the principal. John Bianchi briefly mentioned the Red Lake tragedy, then he read through some revised instructions.
"Teachers, lock the doors. You do not have to turn off the lights," Bianchi said to the school. "This is a lockdown warning rather than an intruder in the building."
During the lockdown, teachers and students were encouraged to discuss the reasons for the drill and ways to improve school safety. Junior Joanna Anderson didn't like the idea of sitting near the front of the room.
"What if the killer do get in?," Anderson asked. "He's going to shoot everybody in the front line and then keep going and going. So, it's like we're just standing there like, oh my God, sheep backed into a wall. Why can't we hide?"
A few students talked and laughed during the drill. Most remained quiet. Sophomore Enrique Velasquez tried to take the lockdown seriously.
"Sometimes people just think of it as a joke, that there's someone not really out there, and they laugh like this," Velasquez said. "That can cause a vital mistake if someone's actually busting down a door coming in and killing everybody. But there's safety in doing it, because then everybody knows what to do and not have another Columbine incident or Red Lake incident."
There are no metal detectors at Humboldt, but the school does have security cameras and an unarmed security guard at the front entrance. St. Paul police officers also work in the building.
Sophomore Sarah Santos said her school is as vulnerable as any.
"Because after it happened at Columbine I was like waiting for it," Santos said. "You know it's like any school can have a shooting. Red Lake, you didn't know. You don't know if you're going to have a shooting. You don't know if Humboldt is going to have a shooting or not. You don't know."
The practice lockdown took about five minutes. After the all-clear signal, students were on their way to another class. Principal John Bianchi was off to the cafeteria to talk to students about the prom and senior party. He was pleased with the drill.
"You can't be one hundred percent," Bianchi said. "But at least by practicing, rehearsing a little bit, people slide into these things in a calm fashion and they kind of have an idea of what they need to do. And it's a great drill for our staff too. We all know where we need to be."
Bianchi also used the drill to remind students of their important role in school safety. He urged them to always keep their eyes open and report any suspicious activity.
When it comes to avoiding potential tragedy, Bianchi speaks from experience. Last fall, authorities arrested a 17-year-old Humboldt student after finding threatening notes and violent poetry. The writings referred to guns, suicide and the death of other students.
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