Sunday, March 27, 2005
Hotline set up for students to report threats
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
By Susan Langenhennig
What does it take to make a high school student so angry that he pulls out a gun and shoots his classmates? It's a complex question that's in the thoughts of many this week as we read about not only the horrific shooting that killed 10 at Red Lake High School in Minnesota, but also after a less-than-lethal shooting at O. Perry Walker High School in Algiers just a week ago. Thankfully, only one student was injured at Walker: an innocent bystander who happened to be in the hall at the wrong time. While law enforcement and mental health professionals ponder the whys of these shootings, Daniel Gross is working to stop such an incident from causing heartbreak on another high school campus.
Gross, a Tulane University graduate whose brother was shot to death in 1997 on top of the Empire State Building in New York, is chief executive officer and co-founder of a nonprofit organization that fights gun violence. His group, PAX/Real Solutions to Gun Violence, sponsors a free nationwide hotline for students to call to report weapons-related threats at their schools. The hotline can be reached at 1 (866) SPEAKUP.
Pax launched the hotline in October 2002 after a government study showed that 81 percent of school shooters had told other students about their plans before the attack, Gross said.
All calls to the hotline are anonymous, so students do not need to fear retaliation or peer pressure for reporting such a threat. Once a call is received, the hotline contacts school officials and law enforcement in that community.
"We knew we had a huge opportunity if we could tell kids they have the power in their hands to prevent school violence before it occurs," Gross said.
Since it was started, the hotline has received more than 4,000 calls. While PAX does not keep records on the outcome of each call, Gross said he's positive that it has helped to avoid another tragedy.
PAX has advertised the hotline on MTV, in Teen People magazine and on some radio stations, but Gross admits more needs to be done to spread the word about it.
"We want every kid in the country to know about SPEAK UP," he said. "It's there as a resource to potentially prevent a tragedy like the one that happened in New Orleans."
PAX also has worked with law enforcement and education officials to create a school curriculum to help prevent gun violence. So far the curriculum is being used in pilot programs in five cities in New York state, in Los Angeles and a few other places.
In light of the shooting here, Gross wants to put New Orleans schools on that list.
"New Orleans is definitely a place we'd love to work with the school system to get these lesson plans in the schools," he said.
To learn more about PAX/Real Solutions to Gun Violence or (866) SPEAK UP, visit www.pax.com.
The Web site offers the best advice to students who hear about a threat in their school. "Don't ignore it. Don't assume it's a joke. No threat is a joke."
