After I have done my best impression of a woodpecker looking at a keyboard with the Financial Aid aid. I am then notified that I need to set up a .edu email address for the Community College. To use to review aid requests and give class schedules so on and so forth.
The Aid brings me up front to the same half circle front counter.
And asks now the other young lady to help me with the process of setting up the email account. This young lady is so nice she is an African American young lady. She kind of kicks ass a little. Treating me like I belong in the room and is very understanding that I may not be the most tech savvy person ever.
She goes through all the problems that others have had signing and creating an account. We of course have a platitude of problems ourselves. Even just creating an account seems arbitrary but necessary for the process.
Right as we finally get stuff almost set up I hear behind me loud knocking very loud knocking.
I ask the young lady if something is wrong maybe I should go check to see who is outside. The young lady informs me that this happens all the time people get locked out while having a smoke. Then want to come in through the door. So they ignore it now to stop the headache.
This may seem a little precise but as I hit enter for the completion of process. Another older African American lady comes running in. She announcing to everyone there is a gunman on campus.
Now you would think this would have a resounding response but everyone just shrugged and treated it like it was nothing. She runs down the far aisle and then comes up from behind saying: “This is not a drill. Gunman on campus”. This gets the reaction I thought was appropriate PANIC.
No more drills, no more shrugs, and most importantly no more safety.
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Read more in this series by Brian Cardoza, here.
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Image by author. Used with permission.