Lockdown drills need to be changed for the better

Lockdown drills are not as helpful for the safety of staff and students on campus as they could be. The usual drill is to hide and turn off the lights, in hopes that it will mislead the intruder. However, it is an issue because even an intruder would be aware of it, as it is now common knowledge. 

Hiding under desks is not as helpful as it may seem. An intruder would most likely want to maximize their range of harm, which is why being in a classroom with the least amount of resistance is not ideal. Rather than hiding, students should prioritize creating resistance. Hiding under desks is not completely ideal because it puts students in a situation where all are endangered and intruders are aware of their location. 

Turning off all the lights is also ineffective. Teachers are told to turn off the lights so that the intruder thinks that the classroom is unoccupied. But once every classroom’s lights are off, the trick seems pretty obvious. Intruders are not easily misled. Regardless, they will move forward with their plan because they know that there are people on campus. The suggestion is not to keep lights on, but it is to have more plans besides turning off lights. While turning off lights are useful as it makes students harder targets for the intruder, it should not be the only reaction. Once the lights are off, students should move onto the next plan, which is most likely finding a good spot to hide and preventing the intruder from getting into their classroom.

However, some argue that there is nothing else they can really do. The reasoning would be that they do not have much information on the intruder. It is understandable to hide if no one knows about the intruder’s actions on campus yet, but there should be a smarter approach to simply hiding. Most students are instructed to hide under their desks, but instead, they could try hiding in areas where the intruder would not expect. Students and staff should also remember that everyone hiding in one spot is also bad. Being all bunched up together allows the intruder to spot everyone at once, putting them in a bad position. 

Although the routine has been a habit for years, it does not mean there cannot be change. The current drills are not completely effective and students are still not in optimal positions when facing lockdowns on campus. Instead of hiding under desks and shutting off all the lights, students should be taught ways they can fight back when needed. In more defensive situations, they should be taught to barricade the doors. Even though classroom doors can be locked, barricaded doors are an extra obstacle for the intruder. Additionally, it is an unfortunate reality that students and staff will have to fight back if the intruder gets in. Being able to fight back or defend is going to be more useful because although hiding is an option, there has to be a plan in place for the scenario that an intruder has found you.