Walking down Herriman Avenue and Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, students left the school and crossed streets holding up signs as some cars honked in approval. Upon returning to the campus, they gathered into a large circle in the upper field and linked arms, chanting “No more silence, end gun violence.”

The protest, one of thousands at schools around the nation at 10 a.m. on March 14, was held to commemorate the  Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 dead and 17 wounded and call for stricter gun control laws.

Only a few days after the shooting, dozens of Marjory Stoneman Douglas students,  infuriated by the lack of government response in the wake of their classmates’ and staff members’ deaths, spoke out at a CNN town hall on Feb. 21 in Sunrise, Fla. They also expressed their thoughts via social media and took their arguments to the state capitol.

Saratoga safety

While suburban and wealthy Saratoga may be one of the safest areas in California, which has more stringent gun control laws than most other states, Saratoga High fits the profile of school more commonly targeted in school shootings. For example, Santana High, a school located in a large suburb of San Diego with an open campus layout like Saratoga High’s, experienced a shooting in which 15-year-old student Charles Andrews William wounded 13 and killed two in 2001.

In fact, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), an accreditation agency that examines the school every few years, has repeatedly taken note of the open nature of the Saratoga High campus and advised the administration to close daytime access to the stadium and the fields to the public.

Despite WASC’s suggestions, however, the school has chosen to retain the open nature of the school, allowing town residents to enter school grounds to walk and jog the track.

“It’s not as easy as just saying ‘Fine, we’ll lock it all down,’ especially because our community has been so generous through bond measures and want to be a part of some of the things that happen on campus very easily,” principal Paul Robinson said.

The administration’s main way of seeking to keep the campus safe has been through “Run, Hide and Defend” drills that take place early in the academic year.  

One idea that hasn’t received support on campus is the proposed arming of teachers and other school personnel backed by President Trump and the National Rifle Association.

English teacher Ken Nguyen was among the educators who questioned the practicality of this idea.

“I think the moment you start offering that up as a potential solution to the problem of mass shootings at schools then you’ve kind of given up,” Nguyen said.

For junior Shasta Ganti, the idea of having his own teachers armed with a weapon feels uncomfortable and even more dangerous, and he questions what could occur “if a kid got a hold of it.”

Nevertheless, there is a limit to how much the campus can be barricaded from outside threats; in fact, in many past campus shootings, including the Santana High shooting, the perpetrator was a part of the student body and not an intruder.

“And that’s the unfortunate thing,” Robinson said. “That’s the thing that’s scary cause it could be the person you’re sitting next to in class. It’s not necessarily like we are being assaulted from somebody from the outside that maybe we don’t know.”

For students near the end of the 2016-2017 school year, this scenario had the potential to become a real danger when students in a science class told their teacher about a senior’s overheard threat to inflict violence. After she reported the threat to the administration, the district’s safety plan went into effect. The senior was later arrested, removed from campus, ultimately receiving a suspension on May 22 and later being expelled. Until the end of the school year, administrators and campus supervisors stood guard throughout the day at school entrances and exits in an effort to keep the disgruntled senior from returning to campus and doing harm.

“I think we handled it very well and appropriate measures were taken,” Robinson said. “There was never a risk of anybody being harmed, but there was always a suspicion. So we took care of that and eliminated even the suspicion that somebody was going to be harmed.”

Robinson emphasized the importance of students  immediately contacting teachers, counselors or administrators if they suspect anything suspicious or potentially dangerous.

Student activism

When ASB members proposed that the school participate in the national walkout on March 14, the administration was supportive of the idea.

“It sends a message that we’re a school that wants to be safe, and we want our world to be safe,” Robinson said. “We are standing with those and feeling for those who have lost their lives because of this. And we want to make sure that our voices are going to be heard too.”

Senior ASB clubs commissioner Ishana Narayanan said that organizing this school event “provided an opportunity for more kids to get involved who wouldn’t have otherwise done anything.”

During this event, senior Ania Kranz stood in the center of the action, holding a poster that declared “ENOUGH” in large, orange letters — the official color of the national gun violence movement — while leading various chants.

“I was so proud to be a part of such a powerful group of students,” Kranz said. “So many people showed up to show their solidarity and to stand up for what they believe in.”

Still, Kranz thinks students have a long way to go. She urged students to involve themselves politically by writing to local representatives and members of Congress and vote when they turn 18.

Students are also contributing to the movement individually. Immediately after the Parkland shooting, Ganti remembered feeling moved by the incident and wanting to do something, but not knowing how. Two weeks before his birthday, a notification from Facebook asked whether he would like to sponsor a fundraiser, and “at that moment, everything clicked.”

Ganti decided that he could raise money in support for gun control policies and picked Everytown for Gun Safety as his nonprofit organization, raising around $700 through Facebook.

“We need to always be conscious of issues in the modern world,” Ganti said. “Too often we forget about our priorities once the initial hysteria and shock fades. But we need to stay persistent and vigilant.”