by Riley Voss

Tremper has an ALiCE drill once a month. Students have practiced these procedures during many different class periods, including Check and Connect, third period, sixth period, and many other times throughout the day. However, last year, when an ALiCE alert was sent out accidentally and without warning, students were unprepared and unsure of what to do. Why? Because it happened during a lunch period. Students such as myself who were in lunch when the alert went off had no sense of what to do during the situation, as it had never been practiced before. In addition, students who were in classrooms may have had no idea of the escape or barricade plans for their respective classes, as they had never practiced ALiCE procedures in fourth period. All of these factors contribute to why Tremper should conduct at least one ALiCE drill during lunch periods.

When the unforeseen ALiCE alert went off last year, I was in my lunch period. The alert was sounded, and everyone in the lunchroom panicked. We had no frame of reference for what to do if an intruder entered the building during lunch. Many tried to escape the building, going out the front doors to get out of the situation. However, students were quickly ushered into the auditorium, a procedure that we did not know existed as we had never practiced this before. This created chaos, as an unorganized crowd was ushered slowly into the auditorium for safety. Had this been a real situation, the students’ lack of practice in lunchtime ALiCE procedures would end up being a huge danger to the students, as they would have no idea what to do or where to go.

In addition to the panic in the lunchroom during the alert, those who were in their fourth period class also had no way of knowing what the barricade and escape procedures were for that specific class, as ALiCE practice simulations had never been conducted in that period before. Having never gone over important topics such as what can be used as an effective barricade and what the escape plan for that particular classroom is, students were unprepared and had to be shown many of the procedures that were protocol for that classroom. These are things that should be well known in case an alert happens in that class. Not practicing ALiCE procedures during these class periods makes students vulnerable and unprepared for the danger that they could encounter.

Based on the evidence shown during last year’s lockdown false alarm, it is clearly necessary for ALiCE procedures to be conducted during lunch periods. No matter how inconvenient the drill may be for those at lunch, it is imperative that these procedures be practiced during every period of the day to ensure that students are fully prepared for any situation that may occur.