Teachers give their take on carrying guns at school, student safety

By Emily Viers

Special to the Southeast Missourian

Cape Central High School students and teachers are familiar with Adam Glueck.

The Cape Girardeau police officer walks through the halls of Cape Central in between classes. He serves as the school's resource officer.

Glueck is one of the reasons Central business teacher Patty Wamble feels safe teaching at the high school. His presence is also why Wamble doesn't agree with the idea of allowing teachers to carry guns in school.

Having guns in school means better access for students who pose a threat, Wamble said. Not to mention most teachers aren't trained to use a gun, and would not know how to handle a situation if a gun was necessary.

Central band director of 24 years, Neil Casey agrees.

"I would be in jail by now if that were the case...it would end my career," Casey jokingly said.

Recent school shootings have not been the first to plague the area's schools and bring awareness to the issue.

The most well-known shooting occurred at Columbine High School in 1999. The devastation caused by those few students left its mark, and has not been forgotten.

Another school shooting, much closer to home, was at Heath High School in Paducah, Ky. This school shooting occurred on Dec. 1, 1997, and has been left in the shadow of the Columbine massacre.

Unfortunately, as time passed and the memories of these horrible events became less prevalent, security became more lax in many schools. Casey calls this behavior "human nature."

Recent school shootings haven't really affected students any more or less than before, teachers say.

Acts of violence are possible at most any school from any student but Central's teachers feel they have no reason for concern. They express faith in the school administrators and their safety precautions.

Emily Viers is a senior at Cape Central High School and is a reporter for the school's newspaper, The Tiger.