Post-Parkland Are We Missing The Mark?

February 14, 2018 started out as an average day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. But the Parkland, Florida school, and America as we knew it, would be forever changed by the events that transpired later that morning. Fourteen students and three faculty members lost their lives and seventeen others were wounded in what was one of the deadliest school shootings in the United States. It wasn’t until a few days later that its full impact would be felt. As thoughts and prayers were offered from all corners of the world, tears of sadness quickly turned to anger and despair. “Enough is enough,” survivors implored during public speeches and television interviews and vowed, “Never again,” at March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C. However, there is more to be told than political and media narratives allow. Adam Salomon examines school attacks from Columbine to Santa Fe, systemic failures, gun control measures, mental health initiatives, emotional responses and even how current gun control narratives may be placing more students in harm’s way before presenting a simple path forward. Whatever one’s personal ideology, the findings presented in Post-Parkland: Are We Missing the Mark? should be eye-opening to every parent, student, teacher, administrator and advocate looking to make a positive impact toward keeping our schools and public spaces safe.