This is how I go to work at UNC Charlotte now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First: I choose my clothing carefully. I no longer wear shoes with even\nthe slightest of heels. I never wear a straight skirt. Anything I wear has to\nbe something I can run in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Second: I drive to campus, get out of my car and get on my backpack. I\ncarry at least one very heavy book at my back. In my right hand, I carry my\nkeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The keys are heavy, and they are ready for me to throw, and throw hard.\nDistracting shooters is a key \u201cfight\u201d response; I took that training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I pass by buildings marking where the nearest entrances are. I\u2019ve\nmemorized most of them, now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Third: I reach class and wait until the start time of class. Then my\nstudents shut and lock the door. I also carry wedges we can push underneath the\ndoor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s little more than six months after the April 30 shooting at UNC\nCharlotte. Two of our students, Ellis Parkee and Riley Howell, were shot and\nkilled; four students were injured and hospitalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This past weekend, four of my students and I went to speak at a local\nchurch about the UNCC shooting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I described how I go to school, how I go to work, why it\u2019s important\nfor me to carry something I could throw in order to disorient a shooter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese young people\u201d I said, gesturing to my students, \u201care my charge. I\nshould be able to protect each and every one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know I can\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In turn, my students described being locked in their classes, getting\nemails and texts about the shooter, the two shooters, the three shooters at the\nlibrary, at Kennedy, somewhere on campus. Emails, reports, texts. There was no\nclarity, only confusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After hours of waiting, not knowing, campus police came into the\nbuilding yelling their loudest: \u201cCome out with your hands up<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of my students described her reaction. Was the shooter in the\nbuilding? Why else would the police be shouting like that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another admitted being upset by relatives who told her they were\npraying for her. Action, she said, was what was needed. \u201cFaith and<\/em>\nworks,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is little more than six months later, and each one us, in turn,\nspoke of terror and grief and anger. Today, it is just five days after we spoke\nat the church. Yesterday, as I was teaching, we learned that a student went to Saugus\nHigh School in Santa Clarita and shot five classmates and himself. Two children\nare dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To teach is the greatest privilege I have ever been offered. Every year\nI have watched my students grow in strength and purpose. They are\nextraordinary. They are committed. They are responsible, caring, adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t about politics,\u201d one said. \u201cIt is about human lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yesterday, reporters introduced the shooting at Saugus High School with\nthese words: \u201cTwo people were killed today\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, I couldn\u2019t take it any longer. I shouted at the radio: \u201cChildren!\nChildren were killed!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This week\u2019s Torah portion offers a scene of a father holding a machelet,\n<\/em>a \u201cdevourer,\u201d a butcher\u2019s knife, over and above his son. <\/p>\n\n\n\n America is pointing guns at our children. Firearms are the second\nleading cause of death for children and teenagers. We are complicit. We are\ncompliant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We cannot wait upon God\u2019s angel to call us to account, to tell us to\nstop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We cannot wait.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" First: I choose my clothing carefully. I no longer wear shoes with even the slightest of heels. I never wear a straight skirt. Anything I wear has to be something I can run in.
\nSecond: I drive to campus, get out of my car and get on my backpack. I carry at least one very heavy book at my back. In my right hand, I carry my keys.
\nThe keys are heavy, and they are ready for me to throw, and throw hard. Distracting shooters is a key \u201cfight\u201d response; I took that training.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adrenalinedrash.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/twisted-3958780_960_720.jpg?fit=960%2C640&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1918"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1919,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1918\/revisions\/1919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adrenalinedrash.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}