‘There Is No Reason to Feel More Safe’

Aldys Ramos, 14, a freshman at Hollywood High School, shared her thoughts in a conversation with The Times’ Susan Carpenter.

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The atrocity that took place at Columbine High School last April kind of messed with my mind a little bit. It made me wonder if I would have made it through a situation like that and what my school would have done if it had happened here.

I had just started high school, so for me it was this big introduction to super violence on big campuses. It was on my mind for a while, and I was scared.

I’m still scared. When something like Columbine happens, you don’t go from being scared to being not scared overnight.

Before Columbine, I felt safe. I don’t now because I know what’s out there, and I know that could happen here.

This past week we had a bomb threat at school, so things don’t seem to be getting any better. When we were evacuated, no one acted like it was a big deal to them. It was like, “OK. Let’s just move somewhere else.” It was no big deal to them I guess because it’s happened in the past and it’s always been false threats.

I think schools should always be looking for problems, not just when things are thrown at them. They should go out there and make sure everything’s OK.

I don’t really feel that my school did very much after Columbine. They made sure the students were aware of what had happened, but they could have taken it further. The school needs to enforce rules already in place and make sure visitors have a purpose on campus. The school also should arrange programs for students to interact and talk about what they feel.

I think the school should arrange more programs so students can interact and discuss exactly how they feel. I know that some students come to school and they don’t feel too happy. They’re outsiders and don’t fit into that normal, everyday student kind of profile.

After Columbine, those kinds of people threw me off a little. It didn’t make me want to become friends with them. It made me want to stay away from them. I was a little more distant. In a way, I felt bad because I was prejudging them by thinking they could be one of “them.” Most of us were acting like that--staying away from the kinds of people that were responsible for the tragedy at Columbine.

A year later, we are no different in the way we conduct ourselves. Nothing has changed, so there is no reason to feel more safe.

But I’m just a freshman, so as the years go on, I’m pretty sure that I’ll get back that feeling of safeness. It’ll take awhile, but I’m pretty sure I’ll get there.