Summary:
The Los Angeles area has been dealing with many issues of public safety in recent weeks because of the San Bernardino terrorist attack that killed 14 people. This fueled the conversation of terrorism prevention across the country. On December 15th the Los Angeles Board of Education received a threat depicting explosive devices as well as assault rifles and machine pistols. The district superintendent, Ramon Cortines, decided to close all 900 of the schools in the LA area which kept 640,000 students out of class. Across the country an identical email was sent to the New York Board of Education, but it was ignored because they believed it to be a fake. This has caused much controversy on how threats should be dealt with. Since then the threat was determined to be false and all schools are now back in session.
Questions: Did the LA school district jump the gun or did they make the right decision of being safe rather than sorry in light of the recent San Bernardino terrorist attack? What should politicians do to change the trend of rising mass shootings and terrorist attacks?
Although it was an large interruption in the school day for those 640,00 students, it was a necessary measure that was vital to protect those students and teachers. The New York school board took a huge risk by not taking the threat seriously and if anything violent did happen at school that day. The school board would be to blame.
ReplyDeleteTo try to change the trend in mass shootings and violence, politicians need to pass bills requiring more regulated gun ownership. Also, guns should be seen as a larger concern to politicians and the efforts to change policy.
With the recent terrorist attacks in both Paris and San Bernardino, America seems to be more paranoid than ever. Shutting down a school just because an threatening email was sent is an overreaction. Anyone average Joe can send this email just because they're a troll. In my mind, there needs to be credible evidence that there is a legitimate threat before such drastic action is taken. There are plenty of other alternatives a school can utilize that are not as drastic as shutting down the entire school system. The risk in most threats is small and in my mind, the New York school board made the right choice
ReplyDeleteIf the LA school district had reasonable suspicion that the email was real and a serious threat to the students, then they definitely made the right decision. Especially after the San Bernardino attack, it makes sense to be extra careful when considering potential threats. I strongly believe in a more gun control laws in order to help prevent mass shootings in America. Today, the process for anyone to obtain a gun is much too easy - there is very little need for a gun. Actually obtaining a gun and keeping it in one's house increases the chances of gun-related violence affecting the residents. Also, the fact that regular civilians can obtain military style weapons is ridiculous. Those semi-automatic and automatic weapons were developed for the military and warfare and should stay that way. There is no need for anyone outside the military to own such a weapon. Because of this, I believe that all politicians should be pushing for more gun regulation laws.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the threat was not neccesarily dangerous to the students, closing he schools was the right thing to do. In a time with so many shootings occurring, it's better to take initiative and be extra safe. In the future, it might be better for the email to include the reasons and protocols for closing down the schools, to make it more legit. Gun related incidents have surfaced America a lot recently, and I believe it is time to make serious changes regarding gun laws. Guns should be regulated and monitored In order to bring down the mass shootings and other atrocities.
ReplyDeleteIn the wake of the recent terrorist attacks, I believe that the superintendent's actions were fully justified. Whether the threat of violence against the schools was real or not is irrelevant. What matters most is the safety of the school staff and the students currently enrolled in those schools. To prevent the rise of any future shootings and attacks on the general public, I believe that politicians should come to a compromise on some form of nationwide gun control law and push for harsher regulation legislation throughout the US.
ReplyDeleteI believe the superintendent was completely justified in closing the schools as the threat of copycat killers posed a major risk to those schools especially at that time. To counter this rising trend in shootings, I would emplore congress to make a compromise in order to pass gun control, specifically background checks and a register to keep a track of who has guns.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I believe that the superintendent of the LA school system was acting in the best interests of the students in closing the school. The fact that the shooting in San Bernardino was so recent and had the whole country on edge was enough to close the schools. I also believe the proximity of San Bernardino to LA was part of the reason for them closing the schools and New York's remaining open. Politicians can't do much to change the trend of mass shootings and terrorist attacks except by proposing extensive gun control measures that will never pass through congress.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I believe that the superintendent of the school made the best choice regarding the threatening email. Although an identical one had been sent to the New York educational board, there was no way to know for certain if it was fake or not. I believe that he was acting in the best interests of the schools and the students that attended them. In any instance like this, it is way better to miss school for a couple of days and have nothing happen than to go to school with the possibility of something tragic happening. I also believe that politicians should play a bigger role in trying to eliminate as many terrorist attacks as possible by being efficient and passing legislation that will enable the country to start making progress with the ongoing war.
ReplyDeleteI think that the superintendent made the right decision to close the schools in order to protect the students. This terrorist threat, as well as other threats that have happened recently, should be an indicator to politicians that the US is in need of stricter gun control laws, especially when the lives of students are at stake.
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ReplyDeleteI believe the LA school district made the right decision in closing all schools for the day. Since there was a clear threat sent to the LA and NY school districts on the same day, the superintendent decided to place safety above all. In light of the San Bernardino attacks in California, the superintendent was rightfully concerned with the potential terrorist threats. Politicians should focus on gun control/weapon control to combat the increasingly pervasive amount of domestic threats. I strongly believe that stricter gun control laws would help prevent mass shootings in America. Politicians should work on developing more legislation and reaching across the aisle in Congress to find compromises.
DeleteSince I did not see the emails, nor do I fully understand the situation, I can not make a real judgement call. I understand why each school did what they did, and I think that La schools did have suspicion. However, shutting down all schools is a big thing, and this is not the steps that we should be taking. We need to control guns better. We have terrible gun control laws, and we have to many guns in America. There needs to be better implementation of gun control because without it, San Bernidino will continue to happen and America will still have that threat of guns leading the the shut down of schools and excessive worrying. Something has to change.
ReplyDeleteI think the school district made the right decision because of recent events and the treats they received. If something had happened in New York, many students would be affected and the school district would be blamed for not taking appropriate safety measures. I think that there needs to be stricter gun control laws and reform on gun ownership.
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