Here & Now

Wisconsin High Schoolers Share Their School Safety Concerns

Frederica Freyberg:

When it comes to high school students in Wisconsin, what kinds of issues are they thinking about heading into the mid-term elections? We spanned out across the state in late September to find out. As campaigns are putting focus on crime and gun control, we found the specter of school shootings weighs on students’ minds as they go about their day.

Bella Ruston:

It’s kind of one of those things where I think now it’s just — it just is. And it’s just another one of those things where you go to school and you know there’s a possibility of something happening.

Genesis Liebhaber:

Every single day we walk in a school, there’s always that little part in your mind that’s like, is today going to be the day? Am I going to be on the news?

Lily Olson:

All my siblings go to a different school so I have siblings in a different school. And it’s nerve-racking knowing that people would put kids that young in harm’s way. And it could happen at any moment.

McKenna Dehn:

I think about that a lot, especially with the new shootings that have been going on. I mean, it’s been going on forever. But, like, it’s — I feel like it’s been more broadcasted, especially these days. I’m like always thinking like, okay, where’s the closest exit?

Kolton Teichmiller:

There’s always that little thought in the back of my mind that what if something happened and we had a scare like that last year here, and most of the kids stayed away from school in fear of the fact that that might happen to us.

Dakota Jaloszynski:

I know here and there we’ve talked — schools have talked about like bigger school shootings and stuff like that. But I think it was about two weeks ago or last week there was a threat on the school and I ended up staying home because I honestly feared that I — it could have been real.

Makenzie Hobbs:

School safety is essential to the learning environment. You shouldn’t go to class fearing for your life. You shouldn’t. That is absolutely unacceptable.

Frederica Freyberg:

Our thanks to the PBS Wisconsin Education department for their help gathering those student interviews. They were conducted at schools across the state including at two PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Lab schools.