Day 30: The Maginot Line

I have a daily ritual at my school. Every day before my evening class, I like to sit on the terrace on the roof and watch the sun set. I usually try to eat a snack and plan my next class, or grade papers from the previous class if I happen to be ahead of schedule that day.

Today I went up to the roof and discovered that a gate has been put along the walkway to the terrace. It had a massive padlock on it. It was very clear that there would be no more terrace-sitting, today or ever again.

Apparently, a student became suicidal and threatened to jump off the roof several days ago. Although she was dissuaded from jumping, the school decided gates with massive padlocks on them would solve the problem of suicide.

This reminds me that one time in high school when the administration told us that if students were prevented from wearing black trench-coats, that would prevent any Columbine-style copy-cat attacks. Issues of bullying, gun-ownership, contemporary US values, and the role of violence in society were not discussed, but that was ok--preventing black trench-coat ownership would prevent senseless massacres.

Yeah, it was stupid. Take it from one who habitually plotted the murder of all her peers--and never wore a black trench-coat.