After US school shooting, moms, teachers resolve to be vigilant

L.A. police, teachers, moms from San Gabriel Valley, Inland Empire, and San Fernando Valley share advice amid anguish. Cal Poly Pomona public safety officials are on heightened alert after the arrest of 24-year-old engineering student Kyle Bangayan last Sunday at his parents’ home in East Hollywood, on charges of making criminal threats against elementary schools which he posted on social media. The university is conducting a separate investigation into whether the Student Code of Conduct was broken and is utilizing interim disciplinary action. In addition, University Police have increased uniformed patrols and issued a temporary ban of the student from campus. In an E-mail sent to faculty, staff and students, under the subject “University Investigating Threats Case,” acting chief of police Bruce Wilson has said: “If you ever have a concern that someone you know might be a risk to themselves or others, don’t stay silent. We have a network of campus professionals in the PolyCARES program who can help. If you ever wonder ‘Should I…?’ then you certainly should reach out to us for advice, consultation or help.” PolyCARES is a program at Cal Poly Pomona that offers a coordinated response to those who might be a risk to themselves or others. The program receives requests for assistance for a range of issues including: violent acts, weapons, bizarre behavior, thoughts of suicide or self-harm, hate crimes and hate incidents, extreme distress, family or domestic problems, alcohol or drug abuse, and termination or discipline. For immediate help, students are urged to call the University Police at (909) 869-3070 or Counseling Services at (909) 869-3220, the same number to reach crisis counselors after hours, including evenings, weekends, and during campus closures. For non-emergencies, a confidential tip line is available at (909) 869-3399. Vigilance Teachers and mothers from San Gabriel Valley, Inland Empire, and San Fernando Valley had this to say about the tragedy: “When I was a student, and later on a teacher of many years,” Lolly David Enrile, a grade school teacher in the Rowland Unified School District (RUSD) in Rowland Heights, Calif., about 13 miles from Cal Poly Pomona, told Philippine News, “school was considered the safest place to be in. Parents and teachers alike see it as a safe learning haven for their children while they're out earning a living. The recent horrific event changed all that perception. “As teachers, we try to be watchful and vigilant,” added Enrile. “Our school district is fortunate to have a school police. The Rowland School Police Department provides patrol of our entire district. RUSD boosts security in response to the tragedy. We have increased security and police presence after the horrific mass shooting at the elementary school in Connecticut. “In our school, we practice emergency drills, we practice lockdowns,” continued Enrile. “We practice all of these drills and exercises in the event something like this happens. We ask our parents to speak to their children about the need to be safe in their surroundings, to be aware of their surroundings and strangers. Children and parents are advised to contact the school police or the school if they see any suspicious activity or are confronted or threatened by someone. In addition, visitors must go through the school office for clearance before being allowed in the school premises.” “I pray that out of this horrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, we will begin to develop reforms for mental health care,” stated Ulondra McCarty, mother of two, and a Special Education teacher at the RUSD. “We are failing to take care of the mentally and emotionally ill in this country. It’s not an excuse for what happened, but we must begin the dialogue and then make it better. This is my hope and prayer as a mother and a teacher of Special Education.” “The tragedy that happened in Connecticut shocked me as I watched the news,” said Millie Vargas, a mother of five, three at the Rowland Elementary School. “I couldn’t help myself. I cried especially when I found out how young and innocent the children were. I felt so angry at the person who did it and I ask myself, why? My heart goes out to all the victims and their families.” Endless Vargas has more concerns and “endless questions.” “Now, I can't help myself, she continued. “I am scared thinking it might happen at my children’s schools. How can we prevent this tragedy from happening?  What happened in Connecticut changes everything. I fear for the safety not only of my kids, but all the children that go to our schools.  It’s hard not to worry. Are our kids safe? I always tell my kids that their school is like their second home and their teachers are like their second parents. I have a responsibility to protect my children, but how? Teaching our children always starts at home. We need to know everything about our children and their behavior so we can do something about it. Don’t be ashamed or scared to ask for help. Teachers and parents need to communicate with each other about our children and their environment. Speak up.  Parents, talk to your children, listen to them, let them speak up on about their feelings and let them know that you are there for them. We don't want another tragedy like this to happen to us and our children,” she told PNews. “We’ve heard it all before – a gun toting male enters a school and the lives of so many innocents are destroyed,” said George Lightholder, who taught at the Montebello Unified School District for 36 years. “The NRA wants to get all the facts before making a statement. The news media has been getting lots of mileage from the story and those on both sides of gun control continue to bicker. The horror of such a senseless act that happened in Newtown deserves an answer and it’s this: Ban assault rifles. That’s it,” stated Lightholder, a member of the California Teachers Association, and a public speaker. “They kill police, college students and now, innocent 6- to 7- year olds and their teachers. Do hunters need to shoot dozens of bullets into that deer? Some still think so. “As a kindergarten teacher for 30 years, I don’t think so. Tragedies such as this will continue if something positive isn’t done. But will it be done? We know that answer because the legislators in D.C. can’t even keep our country from going over the fiscal cliff. A friend of mine says ‘Guns don’t kill people – people kill people.’ I say well, perhaps, but we do know that it’s the rapid-fire bullets found in the children’s bodies that killed them. When will these weapons of mass murder be banned?” Mr. Lightholder asked PNews. “I feel very secure on our campus,” said Louinn Lota, a teacher at Chaminade College Preparatory, a Catholic high school with 1,300 students in the suburbs of the San Fernando Valley. Ms. Lota teaches six 9th- and 10th-grade religion classes for a total of about 170 students. “After news of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School Dec. 14, Chaminade Principal Bro. Tom Fahy made an announcement over the public address system asking us to pray for the victims and survivors. He also reminded everyone to be aware of our school’s Crisis Response Plan. “We practice our emergency evacuation drills every semester and then once in a while the local fire station asks us to pull the alarm to test their response as well as our response as a school,”. Lota said. “We also have a lockdown procedure that we've used in a real-life situation when there were some armed robbers stealing from some houses in the neighborhood,” she added. “We were in lockdown briefly until the police caught them.” Chaminade College Preparatory, a Catholic school in the West San Fernando Valley, is a closed campus on about five acres. All entrances are locked after the school bell rings at 8 a.m. and remain locked until school is dismissed for the day. The only entrance that remains open during the day is manned by at least two unarmed security guards and no vehicle can enter unless the guards have the visitor’s name on a visitor’s log and afterward engage an approximately 10-foot metal barrier arm at the entrance to the school. Chaminade also publishes a 23-page Crisis Response Plan on its high school Webpage. POLICY Its Lockdown Policy goes as follows: Upon first indication of a serious security threat on or adjacent to the campus, a verbal report should be made immediately to a school employee. If circumstances permit, the employee will make immediate contact with a school administrator; at which time the administrator will determine if a lockdown is warranted. In the absence of an administrator, the employee will make the decision on locking down the campus.   When a school lockdown is ordered, every person on the campus must adhere to the following procedures in their entirety: 1. Immediately go to the nearest unlocked room (including the Gym or the Bob Hope Center but not a bathroom); 2. Ensure that the door handle is in a locked position; 3. Allow as many people into the room as is feasible; 4. Secure the room by closing the doors and windows and lowering the blinds; 5. Stay away from the windows and place paper or cardboard in the door window; 6. Once your room is secured, do not open the door to anyone until such time as there is an “all-clear” indication from a school official; and 7. School personnel will maintain communication as much as possible. POLICE ADVICE “When we get information like this, we take it very seriously, even more so now in light of the Connecticut school shooting,” said LAPD Public Information Officer, Commander Andrew Smith, after a resident notified authorities about the threatening postings by Bangayan that referred to the deadly school shootings in Connecticut. He was arrested Dec. 16 and booked at the Men’s Central Jail, downtown Los Angeles. Bail was set at $500,000. According to the Cal Poly University News, Bangayan has been released. The arrest of Kyle Bangayan has received national attention, after 20 grade school children and six adults were massacred at the Newtown elementary school by 20-year-old Adam Lanza. He allegedly killed his mother first and used her car to go to school, where his body was found later in what authorities believe as an apparent suicide. At Bangayan parents’ apartment, authorities found nine firearms, including rifles, handguns and a shotgun, along with ammunition. Allegedly, the weapons were registered to a deceased relative. Both the District Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to pursue the case because the student didn’t make specific threats against a school or a person. He told police he was only joking when he posted on Facebook that if people don’t stop posting about the shootings on the social network, he would do the same thing in Los Angeles. - Philippine News