A cloudy, humid day. Snack time, everyone gathers at the Garrett Family Steps and goes on a walk around campus—the usually talkative students are quiet and solemn.
Walking around campus and looking at the safe zones in the very remote chance that we experience a school shooting, I wonder how anything could happen up on the hill. I grew up in an area with more than average gun violence. It is strange to see us taking so many precautions against something that has a low chance of happening here, especially when compared to my childhood neighborhood.
According to Property Club NYC, South LA is ranked number seven when it comes to the most dangerous neighborhoods in LA. Growing up, I had a proximity to gun violence, whether it was over petty arguments or intense gang fights.
Gun violence disproportionately affects communities of color.
According to American Progress, “From 2009 to 2018, the rate of gun-related assaults against Black and Hispanic Americans was 208.9 and 128.7, respectively, per 100,000, compared with 90.5 per 100,000 for white Americans.” It was something that I thought was always going to be part of my life as a Latina woman.
As gun violence becomes more widespread, it is hard not to worry about it, especially for school administrators.
“I think it’s hard for people to calculate the degree of responsibility that we feel as administrators of the school regarding school shootings,” OVS Director of High School Crystal Davis said. “I scrutinize the reports of school shooters themselves, looking to understand [their] motivations.”
It is a possibility that all educators and administrators have to face: are they willing to put down their own lives for the students in case of an emergency?
In the time it took me to write this article, many school shootings took place across the country. On October 10, 2025, there were two shootings: one at Heidelberg High School and the other at South Delta High School, both in Mississippi. When talking about the Heidelberg High School shooting, Heidelberg Mayor said, “I want to let the townspeople and people in the community and the surrounding areas know that the town of Heidelberg is a safe place. This was an unforeseen incident.”
No one ever wants to think about gun violence, but we must talk about it. Just this year alone, there have been 27,194 deaths and 49,268 injuries this year alone (Gun Violence Archive).
Our school is much safer and protected than my neighborhood in South LA, but that possibility is always there.
“I think it would be foolhardy and overconfident to say, ‘Oh, yeah, we’re such a great and caring school that nothing like that would ever happen here,’ ” Ms. Davis said. “I’m not going to say it. I want to believe it in my heart, but I’m not going say it.”
It doesn’t matter how far away schools become from urban areas or how many precautions we take; that possibility is always there. That is why it is important to stay informed and know how to protect yourself.