Tornado and stormy weather drills ramp up in schools

A tornado has caused concern for the safety of students that are a part of the Arlington ISD.

The light rain of Texas quickly turned into a tornado warning one Sunday in October for the Dallas Fort Worth area.

Safety drills are practiced multiple times a year in schools and some workplaces to ensure everyone knows what to do in an actual emergency. The drills don’t invoke the emotion, though, that would be evident when under an actual tornado watch. Doing the drills over and over again improves the muscle memory so the students know what to do, with the help of teachers.

“Severe weather drills are helpful, but in an actual tornado, it’s more likely that everyone will be panicking and not following procedure,” Sophomore Lucia Nunez said.

Evacuating students from dangerous areas within the school also arises some concerns, even for drills. Moving everyone out of rooms with windows and into a secure room takes time, especially when the students don’t take the situation seriously. Heavy weather drills may seem like they don’t actually improve anything, but that may just be because of how drills don’t seem important to the students.

“The students take too long by not taking the practices seriously. It’s the people’s behavior that causes this,” Sophomore Jessica Sanchez said.

Getting the people at Lamar to put their interest in the safety of them and their peers can solve many issues that seem to be never ending.