Schools across the United States are facing a surge in the number of school shootings within the last few decades— leaving parents, students and communities to ponder the influx in these tragic events.
People widely disagree on the formal definition of a school shooting, and many people argue that the media falsely classifies incidents occurring near schools as “school shootings.” This discrepancy makes it difficult to know for sure how many incidents have occurred.
Scott Poland, an adjunct professor in NSU’s college of psychology and the co-director for the suicide and violence prevention office said, “There is a great deal of concern that the media has given everyone the impression that schools are very dangerous, when in reality they remain the safest places that children in America go.”
With over 130,000 schools in the US, the probability of a violent school incident, though increasing, is still low. Poland has worked extensively on the topic of school shootings for several decades, presenting to parents, students, and schools across the nation on the importance of violence prevention measures in schools. The first redress he offers is a focus on gun responsibility.
He said, “It means that adults who have the rights to own guns need to keep those guns out of the hands of their children. The vast majority of school shooters got their guns from their very own homes, so it is not a question of trying to take away people’s guns, it’s a question of how can they become more responsible.”
The second point Poland makes is the importance of prior knowledge in the prevention of these incidents. According to a federal study conducted in 2004, in 81 percent of cases, at least one person knew about the perpetrator’s intentions before the attack. 59 percent of the time, the perpetrator told two or more people.
“There is a tremendous option to prevent shootings if we could get students more involved… I also believe strongly that school safety needs to be primarily considered an inside job, meaning that we need to get students involved in their own safety,” said Poland.
Mental health and detection of potentially dangerous psychiatric conditions also play a major role in the frequency of school shootings. The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) recommends a student to counselor ratio of 250:1, a ratio which is grossly unmet by most states, including Florida which averages one mental health professional for every 485 students. Without the resources available for students to seek adequate help, many turn to violence.
Poland explained, “The more we were to increased mental health services in our schools and provide intervention to disturbed students, then we would greatly increase our ability to prevent school shootings… [schools’ focus on students’ mental health] needs to be dramatically changed. The ratio of all of those personnel to the students in Florida is simply inexcusable.”
School shooters are largely categorized into one of three types: psychopathic, an individual without any conscience or remorse; psychotic, someone without a firm grasp on reality and traumatized, individuals who come from a traumatic background, home life, etc. If adequate mental health services were available to students, the probability of these incidents could be decreased.
According to the Nation Threat Assessment Center Report on mass attacks in 2017, nearly half of the perpetrators were motivated by a personal grievance, and over half had histories of mental health-related symptoms.
In the midst of the culture of violence which has become typical of schools in the media, President Hanbury and Nova Southeastern University has stepped forward to assist the Broward County Schools in countless ways.
Poland said, “I have talked with countless faculty and countless students have been involved in many ways. We provide free services in our clinic, and we recognize that Broward County has a lot of expertise, but our university wants to fully partner with them.”
