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Bomb Scares
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to this Commentary!
By Anna Schall
 Since
September 11th, security has been on the minds of many Americans
who are fearful of terrorist attacks. Yet, in the same period of
time, bomb scares have become passé in my high school. We
have had so many evacuations that our Board of Education is threatening
to extend the school year, and what most people might find frightening
has come to simply bore us.
When the alarms sound and the lights flash, we slip into coats
and out the doors mechanically, wondering what kind of evacuation
this one will be. Old-fashioned fire drills mean no more than a
few minutes spent outside, but bomb threats mean a hike across town
to the middle school while we wait for the hazardous materials team
to double-check the building.
Despite the usually awful weather that accompanies this annoying
walk and the extension of the school day a half hour, these drills
remain a generally welcome break from monotonous schoolwork. Students
of different class levels, social status and cultures are brought
together, and little bursts of laughter arise from happy mini-reunions.
On the walk we shiver, and girls can be seen in oversized sweaters
borrowed from guys who are trying hard to look tough in the frigid
air. Lunches are eaten early, contraband CD players emerge, and
the long train of students has a festival air.
Our shelter, the middle school gymnasium, becomes hot and pungent
as hundreds of people pack into it. We stare at one another, remembering
when we were younger and dared to be friends. Seniors who crept
off to their cars drive by and are pulled over, and hungry students
sneak off to buy a bagel or pizza in the town center. The teachers
fight to retain some semblance of order but it's a party.
Thus bomb threats are not frightening, even if the country is on
high alert. My whole school knows another kid will eventually be
expelled for phoning in the latest one, and yet another will take
his or her place once that happens. Bomb scares have become part
of our social system, and while that is admittedly disturbing, our
acceptance of these threats was inevitable — there have been
way too many afternoons spent in gym shorts, standing out in the
rain.
I'm Anna Schall.
WBGO Host Back Announce: Anna Schall comes to us from Youth Radio
New Jersey, a collaboration between Columbia High School, WBGO FM,
and Youth Radio in Berkeley, California.
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