Top 10 Stories from September: School Shootings, Mandates and Hospital Violence
Here’s a roundup of the 10 most popular Campus Safety stories for the month of September.
It’s been a rough start to the 2021-22 school year. In addition to schools dealing with the return to in-person learning and continued debates about mask-wearing and vaccine requirements, school violence is rearing its ugly head.
In the month of September alone, Campus Safety has covered at least four U.S. school shootings with at least one fatality. In another incident, two middle school boys were arrested for allegedly plotting a school shooting. Police say the students, just 13- and 14-years-old, researched the 1999 Columbine mass shooting and tried to buy weapons on the black market.
With all of these devastating incidents, it comes as no surprise that one of our most-read articles this month is about campus response teams and active shooters. While it is beyond unfortunate that our readers are having to research these topics, it provides a little bit of comfort knowing that school leaders are taking these incidents seriously (on top of everything else already on their plates) and putting in the work to protect their students and staff.
Another article that made the list discusses tips and key considerations for emergency exercises such as fire drills, which shows our readers are ensuring they are prepared for other types of campus emergencies — not just active shooters, which are still statistically rare.
View this month’s top 10 stories
Pandemic-related articles that made this month’s top stories focus on mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and the subsequent debates and outrage. School board members across the country are being threatened over mandates and lawsuits are being filed by the dozens against schools and states for their decisions.
Gary Sigrist, CEO and president of Safeguard Risk Solutions, wrote an article for Campus Safety about strategies to help maintain safety and security during school board meetings during this tumultuous time. His article made this month’s list, in addition to an article about lessons learned from college campus public safety and security executives who have responded to recent protests and riots. Protests about vaccines and mask-wearing continue to pop up across the country and these types of articles are helpful in navigating these situations.
Unsurprisingly, hospital safety was also a popular topic this month. As hospitals continue to deal with COVID-19 surges, healthcare workers in many states are experiencing a significant increase in verbal and physical attacks.
“In March, April and May of 2020, my inbox and voicemail was flooded with offers for food, PPE (personal protective equipment) donations, and thank you cards for health care Workers. the public clapped, planes flew overhead, and people did their part and stayed home,” one public health official said about the treatment of healthcare workers. “Now? Angry calls, physical violence, misinformation spreading like wildfire, and a refusal to accept evidence-based solutions as fact.”
Hospital employees have always been much more likely to experience workplace violence due to the nature of their jobs. However, the pandemic has intensified the problem. Recent attacks have often been prompted by long wait times, mask requirements, or temperature screenings.
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About the Author
Amy Rock, Executive Editor
Amy is Campus Safety’s Executive Editor. Prior to joining the editorial team in 2017, she worked in both events and digital marketing.
Amy has many close relatives and friends who are teachers, motivating her to learn and share as much as she can about campus security. She has a minor in education and has worked with children in several capacities, further deepening her passion for keeping students safe.
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