West High has been around for as long as we can remember. We know West as “a safe campus for the students of the school.” But with recent fights that happened on our campus, are we really a safe school?

According to School Resource Officer Allen, around 5-6 years ago, West High was quite bad. “A fight happens no matter what,” said Officer Allen, “but I think it’s been safer now than it has been in the past due to Mr. Brown, his staff and their different tactics.” One can only imagine what West was like before we came here.

According to Assistant Principal Amy Thompson, “Seven years ago, we had more problems that were considered to be concerns. We’re safer now than how we were back then. Overall, we have a safe campus.” As a community, we can prevent dangerous events like this. Thompson says we need to speak up. “Though most aren’t comfortable with speaking up, we need to. It may seem small, but do so.” A lot of support that goes around is peer support. Friends listen better to each other than they would to adults. Fights and other instances at West are impacting us as a whole. “Unfortunately for students, it starts to make them concerned. For the Administration, it makes us relook at what we’re doing. We’re always looking for improvement.” She believes the greatest impact that could happen keeps students from enjoying school.

This is my second year at West High, and although I haven’t been involved in a problematic situation, I can generally say I feel safe on campus to a certain extent. Anything like a fight or a kid with drugs will certainly raise an eyebrow, but in the back of my mind, I know we have Officer Allen and the security guards on campus to come to our aid and keep us feeling safe. In the end, I feel relieved and secure.