Our resident expert on school safety and security, Don Fraser, just sent me the following link to a New York Times article from May 19, 1927.
MANIAC BLOWS UP SCHOOL, KILLS 42, MOSTLY CHILDREN; HAD PROTESTED HIGH TAXES; 33 PUPILS AMONG VICTIMS
It brings to mind the quote by philosopher and poet, George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Before Columbine, the thought of a tragedy of this magnitude seemed to be impossible. We collectively forgot about this unthinkable, horrific act in Michigan, and so here we are 80 years later, with 32 more lives cut short.
We can not - must not - forget. The real tragedy will be if in another 80 years, we still have not done anything to improve the safety and security of our schools to protect our children. The technology exists to help detect and prevent incidents, but help is needed on the federal level to fund the initiatives.
