?
Where does one draw the line between individual freedom and the
safety of the community? Recent tragedies in high schools around the
country show a great increase in teen violence. The worst part it that
these acts of violence aren't just fights and shootings; they are planned
mass murders in our high schools. No more poignant example brings into
focus the question of individual freedom and safety for the school
community. Does individual freedom mean that students can bring whatever
they want, including weapons, to school? Does safety of the school
community mean that students must be searched or go through metal detectors
every time they enter a school building? How do these questions apply to
schools like Bishop Eustace where these extreme forms of violence have
never occurred?
If I could choose to either have more individual freedom and less
safety or the individual freedom and safety that I presently have, I would
want to continue living the way that I currently live. I do think that
individual freedom in the United States means the freedom to pursuit and
attain one's individual potential and that the possession of firearms or
weapons by a student in a school is in no way in keeping with that idea.
Additionally, many students probably are incapable of properly using a gun
and that makes it even more dangerous for them to have one. Even though
Bishop Eustace does not have metal detectors nor are the students searched
when they enter a building, I think that if this is what would ...