By Megha Poddar ’15, Staff Writer

On Friday, July 20^th, the nation was devastated by the unraveling situation in Aurora, Colorado, where a gunman opened fire on innocent people during a midnight premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises,” killing twelve people and leaving fifty-eight wounded. Just a few weeks later, a gunman terrorized a Sikh temple in Wisconsin killing six people and wounding many others. Only a few days later, a dispute among workers caused a man to open fire outside of the Empire State Building in New York City, injuring many bystanders in the process. Although these summer shootings have been caused by various reasons, all promote increased awareness and controversy over gun control laws in the United States, as well as safety at Newark Academy.

The debate over gun control is split on two different sides. One side, largely represented by the National Rifle Association, argues that guns offer a means of self-defense against crime. They also stress that banning guns could potentially create a black-market and be a large source of organized crime revenue. On the other hand, those who call for an end to ownership of guns argue that most violent crimes, like the ones in Colorado and Wisconsin, are committed with guns. In addition, the party claims that suicides and crimes of passion are higher with gun availability, because many people act impulsively if a gun is available. An anonymous student at Newark Academy expressed his concern regarding the current gun control laws, stating that “the ease with which the Aurora shooting’s gunman was able to purchase 6,000 rounds of ammunition online along with four guns in local stores only prove that America must begin to consider a change in gun control laws.” He also added that, “it was quite disturbing how such a good experience was corrupted by such a terrible thing.”

Similar to this student’s view, Ms. Galvin felt equally disturbed by the various shootings and stressed the need to pay extra attention during drills. Although there have been no new protocols introduced as a result of the shootings, Ms. Galvin emphasized that the extensive procedures for emergency situations has already been set forth. Though it is impossible to know what can happen in the future, Ms. Galvin stresses that we “must do everything possible to be organized and prepared in case of a real emergency.” Even though the statistical chance of a shooting at Newark Academy is so small, “once is too many,” stated Ms. Galvin. Just how Christopher Nolan described the Aurora movie theater as an, “innocent and special home,” Ms. Galvin is distraught by the possibility of a similar situation unfolding in our home away from home. The shooting should be a rude awakening to the community to be more vigilant, in order to keep the Academy a safe community.