Both students and staff at Lake Shore High School express their fears and concerns attending school after the Oxford tragedy while also showing support to their neighbors during this tragic time.

On November 29th, 2021, at least 30 shots were fired at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan. This school shooting left 4 students dead, 6 injured, and almost every student and teacher traumatized.

Being so much closer to home, this school shooting hits much harder. Brooke Camacho, a junior at Lake Shore, stated, “I feel like it’s scary for a lot of students and it should be understandable why kids don’t feel safe coming to school.”

James Taylor, a freshman at Lake Shore, said, “I’m not really scared, but it’s just crazy how somebody can feel the urge to want to kill other people.”

John Daly, a staff member, said, “It’s scary, it’s emotional, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve actually started crying. Unfortunately, it’s not the first time but it definitely is close to home, so it gets all of us rethinking things. Not only policy and procedure but hopefully, how we treat each other. There’s a lot to be worked on for sure.”

Schools all over the country have many different policies and procedures to follow if something like this occurs, however, there are still many steps to take in preventing it. Preston Peiffer, a senior, commented, “The best thing you can do is make sure there aren’t any signs from students such as threats or odd behavior that might seem suspicious, but there aren’t things that can be done by the school to prevent this other than taking insane precautions like no backpacks, metal detectors, more officers in the building, no bathroom breaks, and searching students every day.”

Katie Budnick, a senior, added, “I feel like metal detectors are just like a bad look for the school.”

Daly said, “We have a lot of security meetings already, and I know they’re being revisited right now. So, those things that are in place will get better. After talking to Officer Julia, I feel a lot better. She of course couldn’t tell me details, nor did I ask her about things that they have plans that they do, but they do train a lot for things like this, unfortunately. After talking to her, to hear something from the sheriff, I felt a lot better knowing that things hopefully could be prevented. Part of it is also everybody speaking up, everybody sharing information when they come across it, but also treating everyone nicely to prevent things like this.”

Everyone in the country is in a state of shock, and many people in Michigan, kids, and adults, are scared to go to school.

Connie Kemner, a teacher at Lake Shore and also a mom to two young kids, said, “Most of the time I’m too busy thinking about all the things that I need to do and the students I need to talk to so I don’t really think about it in the front of my mind. Sure, it’s in the back of my mind, so it’s not unusual to think, ‘Okay, if something were to happen today, what would I do?’ Having a plan makes it a little bit better, however, I know I’m not perfect and I can’t do it all.”

Peiffer stated, “This occurrence is weird to think about because it was so close to home and other schools around me are getting threats. My cousin’s school was closed for two days and evacuated because of a bomb threat and many other schools have been the same way.”

Camacho also commented saying, “I am scared to go to school, but, due to different circumstances, I am learning from home right now. I can’t imagine the anxiety I would have been there right now.”

Lake Shore staff and students want Oxford to know they are not alone and have the support of every Shorian in the district. Peiffer lastly said, “I feel that right now the kids from Oxford need all the support they can get and need to make sure that they are kept safe and can return to school without having to fear for their lives. They should also know that they aren’t alone and there should be counseling available to work on students’ mental health.”