CVHS gets ready for real earthquake

CVHS participated in its annual earthquake preparedness drill on Oct. 27.

The purpose of the drill is to spread awareness to students on how to handle natural disasters, such as high magnitude earthquakes, in an efficient and orderly fashion. The students were evacuated onto the stadium and waited for an all-clear signal.

Problems arose early as students had to wait most of the ninety minutes in various parking lots instead of at the stadium.

In the stadium, scores of teenagers were wandering aimlessly.. There was also chaos as students went in search of their friends, causing a mass of three thousand people scattered randomly throughout the field. To many, it seemed the drill was more of a social gathering than a preparedness plan trying to be executed well.

For some, the hour-and-a-half long evacuation in the stadium was executed satisfactorily, but others think CVHS may not be ready to handle a real disaster.

“We’re not prepared. The drills are ineffective and not taken seriously,” commented sophomore Mandy Hom.

“If we were in a real crisis, everyone will panic. We’re teenagers that can’t stand around waiting to be filed out if our lives are on the line,” sophomore Kayla Jue added.

On the other hand, the teachers thought the annual practice was necessary.

“The drills give us practice and make both the staff and students more confident when we have a real emergency,” said English teacher Michelle Lew.

Though the students and teachers have clearly opposite views of the earthquake drill, they all agreed that there is room for improvement.

“We should have color-coded cards when we’re in the stadium: a red side if we need assistance and a green side if we’re okay,” proposed English teacher Josh Linville. “There’s so much going on up there and it might be easier to see cards than raised hands.”

Math teacher Melissa Smith explained, “Students were unsure where to be when their teacher was assigned to be a part of the first-aid team. Also, there was confusion on how to check in with buddy teachers. We need to make these changes in the future.”