Tragedy struck the nation once again on Oct. 1 when nine people were killed and many others shot but survived at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Members of the community were left trying to understand how such a crime with such hate could occur on their campus.

President Obama expressed his grief and anger with a grim demeanor in a speech following the shooting, again calling for a change in gun laws. “As I said a few months ago. And as I said a few months before that. And as I said each time we see one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough,” the President declared. “We become numb to this.”

Reverend Johan Johnson, the Peddie chaplain, is concerned by recent school shootings.  “It has to get worse before it gets better,” Johnson said. “A momentum of people saying this is affecting my life needs to happen.”

At Peddie,  technology such as the Falcon Alert system are among the  preparations  in place to ensure students’ safety. Melanie Clements, the Dean of Students, describes it as a “text messaging system that goes out to anyone who registers for it .” It is a necessary step at Peddie that all community members register for Falcon Alert, as the drills and precautions taken at Peddie are to make the campus prepared in case an incident occurs.

“We shouldn’t be scared to get an education,” Olivia Lee ’18 said when asked if she would like to be educated more thoroughly about guns, safety and violence in class.

Reverend Johnson, Peddie’s chaplain, wholeheartedly agreed and revealed plans to reach out to the chaplains of other MAPL schools about what could be done on campuses to help the issue of gun violence in schools.

“The whole nation needs to step up, not just Peddie,” said Johnson.