For most students, the code red procedure has been the same since kindergarten: the students and the staff are told to lock the doors, turn off the lights, hide and hope for the best. In light of recent shootings, security systems have made many improvements, but code red rules have not changed along with them.

“We now have the buzz-in system, where technically once school starts, all the doors are locked, so you’re only supposed to be able to come in through the front doors,” Safe-Ed John Kirken said. “It’s good in theory, but it’s hard to keep track because there are so many doors.”

Kirken has been working as a Safe-Ed for three years.

If someone came to school carrying a gun, Kirken could only tell the main office to enter a code red. When accomplished, he could leave, but he does not believe he would do that, especially if the students and staff are not safe.

“If I told the main office that someone has a firearm and then ran out the front door, I couldn’t live with myself,” Kirken said.

Some students believe that the administration should improve the current code red system rather than only bettering security systems, which only provide one layer of protection.

“They should make some changes [to the procedure]. The people who come into the school to do harm know the system because it has been the same for so long,” senior Eugenia Song said.

However, other students believe that student safety procedures should remain in place.

“The procedure now is important because they keep us safe, in a situation,” sophomore Ethan Alexander said. “Where someone’s got a gun, you don’t want to put yourself out in the open or else you could get shot.”

Kirken agrees with Alexander, but he does think that students should take matters into their own hands if in danger.

“When in a lockdown, you need to be as quiet as you possibly can, but if someone comes through that door, chances are they are there for bad reasons, and you need to do whatever you can: throw chairs, kick scream, anything to defend yourself,” Kirken said.

The Troy Police and the Troy Security Team are starting to implement the A.L.I.C.E. (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate) program. Over the next two years, they will progressively be introducing the A.L.I.C.E training to the students and the staff.

“The key component of the training is that staff and students would have the ability to run out of the building if they feel that there is an opportunity or have options to fight,” head of security Steve Brandimore said.

In time he feels that this will greatly improve the code red procedure.