Ten lives. Ten lives that were ended in a moment filled with fear and panic. Eight students who will never live to experience college, internships, jobs, marriage, children. Two teachers who will never be able to go back to their families and loved ones.

According to CNN, there has been more than one shooting a week since the new year has started. There have been twenty-two school shootings, in which someone was injured or killed, in 2018 so far.

In light of the shooting in Texas on May 18 at Santa Fe High School, I believe that this calls for more than just vigil prayers, pictures of the victims donned with crosses, and times of silence.

Since our president has done little to nothing to address the elephant in the room, we, as students, must instead figure out what to do in the case that we are placed into a situation where an active shooter is on campus.

After seeing all these reports on school shootings, I came to the realization that this can honestly happen to anyone anywhere. If an active shooter were to come to my school, I honestly have no idea what I would do.

Rather than arm teachers with guns or enforce a policy of clear backpacks, students must be taught how to react in situations where guns are involved. Unfortunately, it has come to a time in our lives where a school shooting is more likely than an earthquake or a fire.

We are all taught at a young age to go under our desks or “stop, drop, and roll,” but what can we do when someone opens fire in a classroom or lecture hall? It’s not like you can just run away, especially if you’re sitting away from an exit. Realistically, how fast can you run to avoid the bullets? You definitely can’t outrun them, and running away puts you at a greater risk of getting shot.

Ask your school about their policies for worst possible scenarios, for school shootings. Ask them how they plan to evacuate students and how they plan to deal with shooters inside lecture halls or dining halls. I don’t want to except that a school shooting will occur, but arm yourself with knowledge.