Letters from the Editors

By Hailey Spinks 

Editor In Chief

In a recent article by West Orange Patch, Warren Hills was ranked the twelfth safest school in New Jersey. The way the Warren Hills administration responded to the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in February and the subsequent March 14 walkout made it clear why our school, out of the two hundred listed, was ranked so high.

The Streak staff commends the administration for the extra steps taken to ensure student safety, the respect they showed students who chose to participate in the walkout, and the options made available for those who did not want to face the consequences of leaving the school building. Following the tragedy, information was provided to students and parents concerning school safety, how the administration currently keeps students safe and how they plan to continue improving those current safety procedures. Leading up to the walkout, there was a lot of controversy on how it would be handled. Rumors circulated about the consequences for students who did choose to walk out.

During the walkout, the administration arranged for the entire road to be blocked off and the school surrounded by police enforcement to ensure no person/s entered the school site during the walk out and nothing happened to those that left the safety of the building. Afterwards, students re-entered the building in a quick and respectful manner while staff members made sure no unfamiliar faces made it into the building, too.

The administration was put under intense pressure to ensure they were not violating students’ rights while still making it known that exiting the school building during school hours without permission is against the rules. They also had to try to keep students inside while not reprimanding those who did decide to take a stand for what they believe in.  They left the decision up to the students and yet kept all students–whether inside or out– safe.  This was a delicate balance to achieve and the Warren Hills administration did so with aplomb.

At the “detention” held late for those who had chosen to walk out, Principal Kavcak gave a 20-minute presentation about student rights and told students how proud he was of them. He even sent an email out afterwards with contact information of local politicians to whom students could further voice their concerns. Without the way the administration handled the walkout, things might not have gone as smoothly as they did at Warren Hills on March 14. It was an incredibly hard situation and we believe that they could not have handled it any better.