School shooting is an unfortunate reality of American life.

Over the past few years, there has been a stark increase in school shootings, with 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 all setting alarming records. In 2024 alone, there have been at least 83 incidents, and as of Feb. 7, CNN reports that four school shootings have already occurred this year.

One of those shootings occurred on Jan. 22, 2025, at Antioch High School in Nashville, Tenn. The 17-year-old Solomon Henderson opened fire inside the school’s cafeteria. 16-year-old Josselin Corea Ecalante was killed and Solomon Henderson shot himself and died after.

According to CNN, some southern states have seen a high rate of school shootings relative to their population since 2008. Texas has had the highest number of shootings, with 62 incidents since 2008. Washington, D.C. had the highest rate of one shooting per 100,000 people. Montana, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island had no school shootings since 2008. Massachusetts has had at least six total school shootings since 2008, which is 0.09 school shootings per 100,000 people.

Williston’s campus safety team provides 24/7 protection for students and staff safe on campus. Its office is located in Reed Campus Center but they are across the campus throughout the day. You can call them through the Williston Emergency System, at (413) 529-3911.

Ava Medaugh, a senior from Leeds, Mass., attended public school before transferring to Williston as a sophomore. Her experiences with safety at her previous schools and Williston have been different.

“Northampton [High School] was just one building, and it was separated from the town,” Ava said. “We had a big speaker, so it was really quick to get information. I definitely think in some ways I feel less safe and in some ways I feel more safe at Williston because at Williston, I know we have an actual team of people who are trained to handle something like that.”

Despite the smaller size of the security team, Ava felt safe in Northampton High School since she had more drills.

“Whereas in my old school, we had no one. But also, I think I will feel safer if I know what is actually going to happen when the lockdown happens.”

Ava thinks that conducting drills at Williston is important for ensuring campus safety during emergencies.

“I think it would be a good idea [to have a drill] at least once or twice a year, because there’s so many places on campus that would be good for us to know what to do,” Ava said. “I feel like for places like the dining hall, I know there’s multiple exits so I feel like I could figure it out pretty easily, but I feel like classrooms are hard.”

The school installed a speaker on the top of Reed Campus Center a few years ago. There are emergency communication protocols that can send messages to all emails and cell phones.

The school had a lockdown drill in the 2022-2023 year, but not last year due to the difficulty of scheduling.

Ozora Yazaki, a sophomore from Tokyo, Japan, has never participated in an active shooter drill.

“I have no idea what I have to do when [school shooting] happens,” Ozora said.

Ozora grew up participating in earthquake drills, as Japan has one of the most frequent earthquakes in the world.

“I feel like I am going to naturally hide under my desk because that is only the thing I know,” he said.

Ozora listened to a YouTube video of a lockdown drill siren.

“I would think it’s either fire alarm,” he said. “I know school shooting is a real thing but still, school shooting is still kind of a crazy idea for me. It is definitely not the first thing that would come up to my mind when I hear [the siren].”

Anne O’Connor, a Director of Campus Safety, said that one of the questions that is frequently asked is the difference between a Stay-in-Place and a lockdown.

A Stay-in-Place order is a proactive action taken to protect students, staff, and visitors from outdoor hazardous conditions. It may require students and staff to remain indoors, sometimes for an extended period of time, as it is safer inside the building than outside. All students and staff will remain inside the building until further notice from the administration or the emergency notification system.

Circumstances that may warrant a Stay-in-Place response may include severe weather, “HAZMAT” (hazardous materials, including explosives, flammable liquids, toxic chemicals) incidents in the area, and any situation where it is best for people to stay where they are to avoid an outside threat.

Lockdown, on the other hand, is an order to protect students, staff, and visitors from a serious threat, which may be on campus or within very close proximity to, such as an armed intruder. Lockdowns occur when it may be more dangerous to leave a building by an evacuation than it is to stay in a secure area. Staff and students will remain in Lockdown until a building administrator, law enforcement, or fire personnel unlocks the doors.

“During a lockdown, it is important to get to a building, or room in a building, that can be secured,” O’Connor said.

Kate Garrity, an Associate Dean of Students, emphasizes the seriousness of the issue when talking about school safety.

“[School shootings] are terrifying and important questions,” she said. “A school shooting is something that haunts all of our nightmares. That said, we have teams of people that work on a system for this.”

O’Connor is proud of the school’s proactive approach to ensuring safety on campus.

“The School has been proactive in increasing the safety and security of the community,” she said. “One of the most noteworthy efforts is the installation of card access to the dormitories and campus buildings. This allows the buildings to remain secure but accessible to students and employees.”

O’Connor explained that campus safety is in constant communication with emergency personnel during any campus emergency.

“Campus Safety personnel communicate with emergency personnel throughout any emergency on campus, she said. “The School has a fantastic relationship with the Easthampton police and fire departments as well as the Massachusetts State Police liaison for safe schools.  We are in direct communication with emergency personnel during all calls to campus.”

Clear communication with the community is just as important as communication with emergency personnel. Garrity asks students and staff to stay alert, follow directions, and pay attention to announcements.

“The directions to our community are appropriately simple: follow the directions at the moment. Watch your phone, listen to the loudspeaker,” Garrity said.