A young person

with a mindset on killing others will not be deterred by wearing a school

uniform. Instead of enforcing a policy on wearing school uniforms, the

partnership of the local school administration and parents could agree

on a dress code. It would be teaching the young person a life skill.

Most work places

have a dress code. The dress code usually reflects the practical need

of the work being done. A house painter is allowed to dress differently

than a person involved in retail sales, etc. With a dress code young persons

would still have the freedom to express their individuality in a constructive

way and be learning the importance of following guidelines set by those

in authority.

The passing

of more gun control laws will not keep a young person from killing others.

The young people responsible for this tragedy used nails and many other

common items. Will all of these items be controlled by laws because they

were used for something the manufacturer did not intend? What laws will

be passed for those that kill others with their hands?

Should the

parents of the young people that committed this tragedy be held responsible?

Debate is going on even in our court system whether to try a person under

the age of 18 as an adult or a juvenile if they have committed a serious

offense.

There is no

magical age when a person is one moment a juvenile and the next a full

grown responsible adult. People mature in responsibility at different

rates just as they mature physically at different rates.

My heart goes

out to the parents of the young people who were killed and injured as

well as to the parents of the young people who committed this tragedy.

Not only have they lost their children and have to live with the knowledge

their children did this, but fingers are being pointed at them. I don't

know what kind of parents they were but I do know they were not perfect

nor is any other parent. Shouldn't the parents be presumed innocent until

facts show otherwise?

What can the

school systems do to help prevent a tragedy like this from recurring?

The building of small community schools instead of the large mega-complexes

would help in many ways.

In a small

local school setting, students and school officials would know each other

better. Communication between students, school officials and parents would

be improved. Structure and discipline could be handled more effectively.

Security would be made easier. More students could be involved in a variety

of school functions and feel they were contributing instead of being lost

in a sea of people.

It hasn't been

that many years ago the tragedy of mass murder of young people by young

people would not have been conceivable. What's changed since then? The

value of a life in the U.S.

It's hypocrisy

of the U.S. to be involved in Kosovo trying to protect one group of people

from the murderous acts of another group when the same horrible murderous

acts are happening on the most defenseless group, the unborn babies, in

the U.S.A.

Rita Gray

Fayetteville

B ack

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