This is an opinion piece reflecting the opinion of the author and not the position of the Dublin Shield.
After school on August 23, 2024, five adults walked onto campus, followed a student, and assaulted them in the school locker room. This incident has left students and teachers alike astounded and questioning the extent to which Dublin High School keeps students safe along with future measures being considered for ensuring school security.
The Dublin Police Department, although limiting the amount of information available to the public, has launched an investigation looking into the culprits of this appalling incident. Although most of the assaulters have been identified and caught, the student body believes that another event similar to this could happen again, and is even beginning, rightfully, to question how truly safe they are on school grounds. Considering the principle that student safety exists above all else, why is it that the safety of one of our students was compromised?
Prianka Vakil, a junior at Dublin High, expressed, “It was completely unreal to believe that five adults were able to fully just walk onto a school campus and assault a kid, no questions asked. It’s crazy how it was able to just happen in the first place.”
Additional students echo the same sentiment of feeling the event’s surreality, emphasizing the lack of immediate attention to the problem when it occurred. This ripple effect of emotions has caused fear among students when going to school. If this event was able to happen after school, what’s to say it cannot happen during it? Although students are told that the Dublin Police Department is our immediate source of aid in case of emergency, a response to this particular event was not prompt enough. Despite the constant school drills, the student assaulted was still harmed. Thus, when questioning students, a common question arose: Where was security?
In response to the sudden event, Ms. Phipps, the Dublin High School principal’s secretary, emphasized, “As Ms. Byrne had stated in her comment to the community, we are outraged that this happened on our campus. School must be a place where all feel safe and supported. As always, we want to remind the community to please report any suspicious activity. We want to encourage students to do the same and to let an adult know of any ongoing concerns.”
In regards to more practical steps that could be taken, Ms. Phipps continues to say, “The District is currently working with Dublin High to get secure fencing around the school perimeter of the school. We have continued adult presence in the locker rooms and the hallways facing the parking lot have stayed locked.”
These measures are comforting to many, providing direct assurance from the school about the additional security that is to be implemented. Although this initiative demonstrates grounded ideas of security at Dublin High School, a clear opinion was formed when told to students.
Priyani Khandelwal, a junior at Dublin High School, said, “It’s great that these steps are being taken to prevent any such incident from occurring again, but it should’ve been implemented earlier as well.” This student makes a valid point as students at Dublin High School have been taught how to react when an intruder breaks in or a fire alarm rings, but are woefully unprepared for emergency situations like the assault.
The path forward for the overall Dublin community will be one of complexity until concrete changes are made. Undoubtedly, trust has been undermined, and as the school rebuilds itself, it is apparent that the opinions of students must be attended to. Some students doubt the level of protection the school provides, and rebuilding this trust will take time as it is imperative to once again make students feel secure again.
