Is school safer since Columbine?

This spring, four years after the shootings at Columbine, we asked Utah students if they think their schools have become more safe because of the incident in Colorado.

"I feel they are now only a little safer. Shortly after the incident, the schools became more conscientious, but now they have settled almost back to the way it was." -- Jeff Erickson, senior, West Jordan High School

"Safer than before? No, but generally safe. I think the worst part about our school is the parking lot. No one goes the speed limit and I've almost been hit several times." -- Ashley Dewsnup, senior, Bountiful High School

"Yes and no. Yes, because more schools have bought metal detectors and other things, but no, because I haven't really seen anything like that happen at my school." -- Jace Moysh, junior, Murray High School

"I feel that during the Columbine shooting, our schools were forced to see what people could do, but the rules that they enforced at the beginning are right back where they started." -- Kathryn O'Reilly, senior, West Jordan

"I think that the schools are becoming more aware of what some students may bring to school." -- Nellie Mae Webb, senior, West Jordan

"They haven't become necessarily safer but more aware of what's going on." -- Marie Gauthier, senior, Murray

"No, because there's nothing to do to stop what kids are thinking. There still may be those kinds of people out there like the shooters from Columbine, and there's not really anything you can do to find those kids and stop them." -- Sadie and Jessica Roestenburg, sophomores, Murray

"I don't feel threatened because I think they've taken care of any threat of bringing weapons to school. I think they take care of it, so there are none." -- Riley Edwards, senior, Bountiful

"I think that people's awareness is raised, but a lot of schools haven't changed their policies." -- Lauren Bradley, sophomore, Murray

"I think, for the most part, they are the same, because nobody wants to do anything to make them safer, and if there are too many steps taken, it will infringe on people's rights and privacies." -- Nick Parker, sophomore, Murray

"I have always felt safe at school. Columbine alarmed me as much as it did anyone else, but I still never felt really scared at school. Call it denial, but I've just always thought it couldn't happen to me." -- Amber Anderson, senior, Bountiful

"I think that the schools have tried to change, but I still think that something like Columbine could happen again." -- Adam Carpenter, junior, Murray

Kristi Green is a senior at West Jordan High, Mallory Hill is a junior at Murray High School, Kathy Moss is senior at Bountiful High School. If you will be a junior at a high school in Utah next year, and would like to write for Pulse, send an e-mail to Susan Whitney, susan@desnews.com.

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