I’m tired of every one of these kids being called survivors. Just because they were in the building doesn’t make them survivors. And it demeans those who actually did survive being shot or shot at or directly threatened.
We’re they even in the building?
Looking at the campus, there appear to be covered walkways linking quite a few buildings.
The media has not identified these buildings by number or name and as far as I've seen has made no attempt to clarify where these survivors were at the time of the shooting.
David Hogg was in a closet, inside a locked room of a different building. In the transcript of his video production, one girl denies hearing any shots. Apparently they could not hear gunfire from their location. Seems relevant for reporters to ask students being interviewed where they were at the time of the shooting.
However, the question now is how best should the students from the high school go forward? If my child had escaped that school without injury, my priority would be on a return to normalcy as quickly as possible. I do not believe derailing high school academics, sports, and socializing to immerse in activism and navel-gazing makes sense. If my child attended that school, I'd seriously consider transferring him or her to a private school ASAP, perhaps even to a boarding school. Of course, my child should maintain friendships with his or her closest friends, particularly those who may be recovering from injuries and need support. However, nothing healthy will come from hitting the pause button on their lives. Better not to enter the building again than to become a professional anti-gun activist and mourner at the age of sixteen. (P.S. For those who object that boarding school would be a financial impossibility for most people, that's a canard. Many boarding schools have more money to offer in scholarships and financial aid that many colleges, and most would be very welcoming of students applying under such dramatic circumstances.)