Dull. Bothersome. Unrelenting.
These are just some of the adjectives I would use to describe the recent string of lockdowns.
I still remember my first lockdown at this school. It was freshman year and I was in biology. It was actually a bit nerve-racking. I wondered if what my middle school teachers told us about public school was true, that maybe I should have stayed there for high school.
Too many experiences later, I feel nothing but contempt.
I feel like we’re supposed to feel scared, but I just can’t. This is America, so we’re already pretty desensitized to mass shootings, but the recurring lockdowns make it even worse.
My instant reaction to the tone of the intercom is one of dread, knowing that I will spend the next 40 minutes on the cold, hard floor.
After every single one, the school and district leaders send out the same email, giving the community the same vague report of a nondescript weapon on campus, reported by the anonymous reporting system, with no insight into the steps they are taking to stop it.
By my count, there have been 10 lockdowns in this past calendar year, and every time we get one, nothing is found. To give DPS some credit, they handle the lockdowns themselves better than other schools I’ve been to. But that doesn’t make them any less of a drag.
Fourth period has been noticeably emptier, too. It’s crazy to me that things have gotten so bad, people are leaving just to avoid having to deal with another one.
These lockdowns are a product of the anonymous reporting system. The anonymity makes sense in theory, to eliminate any threat of reprisal for reports, but has been corrupted by misuse. No longer is it a shield for people who would otherwise be afraid to report these things, but instead serves to protect those who want Riverside students to suffer.
Perhaps the craziest part is that it could be quite literally anyone. The Say Something tipline allows anyone who can access it to report anything anywhere, without verification. While it is likely that these fraudulent tips are locally sourced, it could theoretically come from quite literally anywhere in the world.
It’s time for a change. It has to be. I don’t know how much more I or anyone else can take.
