Columbine effect: Fear over reality

Drizzt · April 16, 2001, 12:35 PM

"Columbine effect': Fear over reality

By Kevin Simpson
Denver Post Staff Writer

Sunday, April 15, 2001 - In 1999, the year the word Columbine became synonymous with school violence, the chances of a child being killed on campus were 1 in 2 million.
The following year, harrowing headlines about subsequent shootings fueled a national preoccupation with an apparent epidemic of violence in the classroom.

The odds in 2000?

One in 3 million.

The Justice Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based criminal justice think-tank, offers those numbers to support its contention that facts about school violence - that it's actually declining - have been swimming against an overwhelming current of media coverage and public opinion.

Many facets of life in America have been pulled into Columbine's powerful slipstream during the two years since the suicidal attack by two high school boys who killed 13 and injured 23. Police procedure, school policy, the Internet, academia, the gun debate - all have been fundamentally affected by the event and its myriad aftershocks.

One school administrator calls it simply "the Columbine effect":

Police now respond more aggressively to school shootings.

Courts in some states have mandated information sharing between schools and law enforcement, leading to close coalitions with local police that some hail as potentially lifesaving, but others see as uneasy alliances that threaten student freedoms.

Schools have stepped up basic programs for bully-proofing and conflict resolution, although, in many cases, improved safety has come with the side effects of zero tolerance and a more repressive environment.

Cyberspace served as an outlet for the Columbine shooters' rants and ultimately a vehicle for copycat threats and even Web sites lionizing the killers. Now it has come under closer scrutiny by Internet watchdogs, industries and lawmakers as they re-examine thorny free-speech issues around such unfettered communication.

Echoes of Columbine also resound through the language; the word itself has achieved almost generic status in the nation's lexicon, connoting a specific brand of school violence.

And almost two years ago, the American Dialect Society recognized the phrase "trench coat mafia" - the clique initially identified with the Columbine shooters - among its "Brand New" entries, in the same breath as "Pokemania."

Fallout from the shootings still pervades academia, as college applicants ruminate on its meanings in their essays on entrance exams.

"It's a lens through which they can express who they are, how they see the world differently," says Evan Forster, president of EssaySolutions, a New York company that coaches students. "That's what a lot of these kids are writing about."

Columbine remains a fulcrum for change.

Ziedenberg Ziedenberg"The tenor of discussion was underway before Columbine," says Jason Ziedenberg, senior researcher at the Justice Policy Institute. "There was a context for Columbine to happen in - the latest in a series of school shootings. But Columbine took what was happening and amplified it.

"Exponentially."

read the rest of the article at: http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,53%257E21741,00.html

April 16, 2001, 12:35 PM	#1
Drizzt Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2000 Location: Going Out of My Head at a Rapid Pace..... Posts: 2,511	"Columbine effect': Fear over reality By Kevin Simpson Denver Post Staff Writer Sunday, April 15, 2001 - In 1999, the year the word Columbine became synonymous with school violence, the chances of a child being killed on campus were 1 in 2 million. The following year, harrowing headlines about subsequent shootings fueled a national preoccupation with an apparent epidemic of violence in the classroom. The odds in 2000? One in 3 million. The Justice Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based criminal justice think-tank, offers those numbers to support its contention that facts about school violence - that it's actually declining - have been swimming against an overwhelming current of media coverage and public opinion. Many facets of life in America have been pulled into Columbine's powerful slipstream during the two years since the suicidal attack by two high school boys who killed 13 and injured 23. Police procedure, school policy, the Internet, academia, the gun debate - all have been fundamentally affected by the event and its myriad aftershocks. One school administrator calls it simply "the Columbine effect": Police now respond more aggressively to school shootings. Courts in some states have mandated information sharing between schools and law enforcement, leading to close coalitions with local police that some hail as potentially lifesaving, but others see as uneasy alliances that threaten student freedoms. Schools have stepped up basic programs for bully-proofing and conflict resolution, although, in many cases, improved safety has come with the side effects of zero tolerance and a more repressive environment. Cyberspace served as an outlet for the Columbine shooters' rants and ultimately a vehicle for copycat threats and even Web sites lionizing the killers. Now it has come under closer scrutiny by Internet watchdogs, industries and lawmakers as they re-examine thorny free-speech issues around such unfettered communication. Echoes of Columbine also resound through the language; the word itself has achieved almost generic status in the nation's lexicon, connoting a specific brand of school violence. And almost two years ago, the American Dialect Society recognized the phrase "trench coat mafia" - the clique initially identified with the Columbine shooters - among its "Brand New" entries, in the same breath as "Pokemania." Fallout from the shootings still pervades academia, as college applicants ruminate on its meanings in their essays on entrance exams. "It's a lens through which they can express who they are, how they see the world differently," says Evan Forster, president of EssaySolutions, a New York company that coaches students. "That's what a lot of these kids are writing about." Columbine remains a fulcrum for change. Ziedenberg Ziedenberg"The tenor of discussion was underway before Columbine," says Jason Ziedenberg, senior researcher at the Justice Policy Institute. "There was a context for Columbine to happen in - the latest in a series of school shootings. But Columbine took what was happening and amplified it. "Exponentially." read the rest of the article at: http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,53%257E21741,00.html