“I think it’s pointless,” said Eastern sophomore Chris Wright. Gina Gallo, a sophomore at Central, said she thinks people are overreacting. “Frankly, if they were going to kill us all, I don’t think it would stop them,” said Chris Bonis, an Eastern junior. “I felt safe at school,” said Eastern sophomore Sarah McDonald, “but this lockdown thing makes students paranoid, and, if someone’s going to do something, a lockdown isn’t going to help.” At Bristol Central, administrators are taking a more relaxed approach, locking entrances and requiring guests to carry passes. The lockdown plan and drills are only for Bristol Eastern. “Now, they think it will happen because you practice the drill,” he said. Jack Winters, a history teacher at Central, said the plan encourages the “mentality” of school violence. “It saddens me,” said Michael Traverso, a social studies teacher at Eastern, “that I’ve been here 30 years and this is what we’ve come to - hiding the kids in the corners and locking the doors.” Many teachers said that while the school has to do something, the lockdowns are pointless and depressing. “It’s going to provoke maniacs,” said Dave Carros, a senior at Bristol Eastern. The last thing we want to do is get into groups for the killers,” said Carolyn Webster, an Eastern sophomore.

“Putting us all in one place, or in clusters, is dangerous. Designed to make Bristol Eastern High School safer, the “Lancer Lockdown” could put students and teachers at greater risk, some students said.

Michael traverso mchs