On Thursday, September 19th, 2024, a 17-year-old girl was shot in the leg at a playground opposite Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School, which is located on Staten Island. 

This event, coupled with the collection of four firearms in New York City schools during September, the Apalachee High School Shooting, and the arrest of an 11-year-old in Florida threatening gun violence, all raise concerns over whether students are safe at school. 

As of September 19th, 2024, there have been 50 school shootings in the United States so far this year and 13 of them took place on college campuses.

Grade school students engage in regular safety procedure practice to prepare for a potential school shooting, but that preparation ceases to exist when students enter John Jay College. 

Representatives of John Jay’s Public Safety Department declined The Sentinel’s request for an interview on this matter. 

Danielle Faynberg, BA/MA forensic psychology student at John Jay, shared her thoughts on John Jay’s lack of shooting procedures. 

“We should have shooting drills,” she said. “I think it’s awful and ridiculous that gun violence exists because we shouldn’t live in fear that someone may shoot us,” Faynberg explained. 

Faynberg further commented on the topic. 

“As someone whose high school made us go through metal detectors every single day, not having one in college really surprised me,” she recounted. “I honestly don’t feel safe here and I don’t know any safety zones or what to do if that occurred here,” said Faynberg. 

Other John Jay students are also unaware of the  procedures the John Jay Administration has established in the event of a shooting.

Janiris Vasquez, a junior at John Jay and a forensic psychology major, shared that she does not know what the procedures if a shooting were to occur at John Jay College. 

“I don’t know the procedures for a school shooting at John Jay,” she said. “The only procedures I remember are from high school.”

Bryan Tapia, a junior at John Jay and criminal justice major, further illustrated this lack of awareness of safety procedures. 

“I can look online for general procedures, but I need to dig for it,” Tapia said. “They aren’t talked about.”

The procedures to ensure safety in the event of a shooting at John Jay includes every classroom in the New Building and most classrooms in Haaren Hall having a window cover by each door. 

The instructions for installation of these window covers are on each panel. The installation of these window covers requires the installer to lift the panel, hang the cover on the red bar that is on the back of each door in order to cover the glass completely, and wait for further instructions from the Public Safety department.

Each classroom on John Jay’s campus is also equipped with a diagram of exits for each floor. Faculty and staff members are meant to be trained on these procedures. 

Adriana Perez, a Interdisciplinary Studies Program administrator and professor, commented on her training. 

“We have a mandatory general violence prevention online training and that has a few slides on how to protect yourself and how to respond in the event of an active shooter,” said Perez.  

Kofi Scott, an adjunct professor in the Interdisciplinary Studies Program, offered a different assessment. 

“No one has ever told me about any kind of active shooter training,” he said. “All I know about is the platforms by the door that go over the glass, information that was given to me in conversation with a fellow professor,” said Scott.

The topic of John Jay’s shooting procedures has also resulted in a discussion regarding mental health, firearm safety, restrictions on firearms, and since John Jay’s mission includes raising advocates for justice, its students have strong opinions on the topic mentioned. 

Tapia also shared his message for reducing the occurrence of national school shootings.

“The topic of school shootings and gun safety in general needs to escape the political scene and get to the root cause,” he said. “It’s about mental health and school systems not helping people with both mental health issues and bullying problems.”

Vasquez offered a similar sentiment. 

“It seems like areas that don’t have as much restriction lead to more chaos,” Vasquez said. “But regardless of my opinion regarding gun restrictions, students are in danger.”