Students Reflect on Academy Security Systems

By: Harrison McGovern, Chengyue Zhang, Catherine Wu, Andrew Yuan, Jett Goetz

As schools transitioned back to in-person learning in 2021, incidences of gun violence increased from the 10 shootings in 2020 to a total of 34 shootings in 2021, 24 of which occurred after Aug. 1. Student concerns surrounding the Academy’s security systems prompted discussions about improving the state of campus safety. 

Campus Safety has existing protocols that protect the Academy from school shootings. “Campus Safety works directly with Law Enforcement to proactively address potential threats to our community,” Director of Campus Safety and Risk Management Paul Gravel explained. “Any intelligence received is immediately reported to the Academy’s Incident Response Team and acted upon in conjunction with the Exeter Police. Law Enforcement is prepared to respond to active threats.”

“Campus Safety Officers are not sworn law enforcement officers and are therefore not trained to connect and work extensively with local police or law enforcement. Some of our officers are former law enforcement officers or firefighters therefore are trained on how to handle emergency situations. They are not a substitute for police or fire,” Gravel clarified. 

At the beginning of each school year, Campus Safety Services conducts a mandatory safety assembly to explain personal safety and the Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate (ALICE) response to an active shooter. Furthermore, each year the Academy conducts announced and unannounced lockdown drills “[These drills] are observed and critiqued with recommendations sent to the Academy’s Incident Response Team (IRT),”  Gravel said.

Gravel further emphasized the importance of regular student reporting protocol: “See Something, Say Something.” 

“Students need to be a part of our safety program by being vigilant and reporting suspicious behavior or activities,” Gravel said. “If students immediately communicate suspicious behavior to campus safety, a faculty, a staff member, or Exeter Police, we will all be working towards keeping each other safe. What better example of non sibi is there?”

Campus Safety also implemented changes to ensure that security is not compromised during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, the Elm Street and Wetherell dining halls were accessible without the lion card. Upon students’ return in the fall term of 2020, both dining halls require key card access. “[We] intend on keeping them locked going forward,” Gravel said. “This is the best way to prevent unauthorized people from getting into our buildings.”

Despite existing protocols, some students expressed their concern about safety on campus. “I know the Academy sends out mass texts that go to everyone and that the school runs drills. But I don’t think these policies are enough for student safety,” prep Willow McCarthy said.

Lower Alinne Romero-Torres agreed, “anytime you're out and about, you’re on a school campus, and that means that you're vulnerable to [school shootings]. Living here, [school shootings] have definitely crossed my mind… It’s just an issue everywhere.” 

Senior and co-head of Student Demand Actions Anya Tang commented on their experience of safety at Exeter. “As someone who attended a large public school prior to attending Exeter, the safety that I feel here can better be interpreted as an absence of fear instead of a positive, safe feeling,” Tang said. “Because Exeter is such a small environment and community, I feel like I know everyone and I exist in a world separate from Exeter as a town. I don’t feel unsafe because of how isolated and how small the community is.”

“I think institutionally the things that prevent me from feeling safe are the same or at least similar things that make most other students of color or marginalized students feel unsafe is knowing that the same structures of policing are touted as the solution to gun violence or oftentimes the same structure as that surveil and target students of color,” Tang said.

Meanwhile, some students feel that the Academy already provides a safer environment than their alternatives at home, but that the school should still hold itself to a higher standard of security. “I feel safer at Exeter, but I am from Austin, Texas. It’s definitely nice to have some sort of key card access and to have campus safety to lean on, rather than having none of that at public school (or just the city police),” upper Weiyi Huang said. 

Upper Alexa Wingate agreed, citing her experience as a student from New York. “I honestly think that Exeter is about the safest you can get in terms of going to school. As someone who lives in New York City, there were a couple of stabbings and other dangerous events at the local subway this summer. On the other hand, Exeter, as a boarding school, has numerous safety practices with emergency checkpoints and access to campus security contact,” Wingate said.

“I think that it’s important to acknowledge that Exeter is a very small and safe town,” Wingate continued. “The few people who walk around the campus are probably just people who work either at the town of Exeter or at the Academy. I believe that the campus is as safe as it can be.”

Upper Lara Muyombwe shared her experience with campus security. “I do feel vaguely safe around campus. Whenever I’m in town, I am assured and feel comfortable in the presence of campus security car patrols, but I’m not sure how safe they could keep us from a school shooting,” Muyombwe said.

“In my opinion, it's safer in the middle of nowhere [like Exeter] compared to downtown Boston. I feel safe because the town is small. However, the school is not very secure, considering how getting into a dorm building is just a card scan away,” prep Byran Huang noted.

Upper Tucker Gibbs agreed. “I think that the Academy does a good job of maintaining security with LionCard locks on almost all of the doors, the ALICE system that we are all educated on, Exeter Alerts, and lockdown drills. It’s also important to note that we are in the middle of suburban New Hampshire, which is relatively safe in that regard,” he said. 

W. Huang noted other options for support. “For the most part, I think I’d probably just reach out to a teacher or another nearby adult. I think I’d first take measures to alleviate the situation, and then I’d probably reach out to nearby adults if I need help,” he said.

“I think the protocols [the Academy implements] are clear, but there are also many circumstances where these protocols wouldn’t work very well, and it’s hard to know what to do in those situations,” McCarthy said.

“I think everything that can be done reasonably right now is being done. I don’t think that there is a terribly high risk that warrants anything further. There’s no reason that we need to have metal detectors or more stringent protocols given that our security systems make that less of a threat,” Gibbs concluded.