New ALICE procedures to promote school safety

A new lockdown procedure was put into place at CVHS on Thursday, April 12. This procedure is called “ALICE,” which is an acronym for “Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate.”

The steps the students follow will depend on the situation at hand and what measures would yield the best results. Students will now have to make some independent decisions in order to defend themselves.

“I like it. It feels like we’re actually doing something,” said sophomore Patrick O’Farrell.

The new procedure was set into place as school gun violence across the nation creates growing concern.

ALICE gives a bigger variety of response than the previous lockdown procedure. In the event of a shooter entering the campus, the situation will be in flux, not set in stone. The greater amount of instruction included in ALICE allows staff and students to be more prepared for a multitude of scenarios that can occur during a school shooting.

ALICE gives directions on how to react in specific situations. One of the most crucial things is to stay alert and informed by paying attention and listening to any intercom announcements. If necessary, students are to lock and barricade the doors to keep the potential threat out.

If possible, an evacuation of certain classrooms might be ordered as long as they are a safe distance from the intruder. And if an intruder were to find a way into the classroom, the students are supposed to try and distract the shooter with noise and movement, thereby limiting the accuracy of the intruder’s aim.

“I think that it’s very helpful to be informed and able to make wise decisions,” said teacher Ashley Smith.

Before this new procedure was put in place, in the event of a lockdown, students were simply supposed to lock themselves in a classroom and hide. While this could conceal their location for the time being, they had no instructions on what to do if the shooter were to discover them.

“I prefer ALICE because it’s more realistic and because it gives power to the people,” said sophomore Patrick Lyons.

While the uncertain chance of a school shooting looms over the heads of students and staff, the new ALICE procedure can hopefully give the school body a greater chance of survival in the case of a crisis.