Burlingame High School Lock Down

While walking between classes on Friday, I was thinking about the weekend and my plans for after school. As I entered my sixth period classroom amidst the commotion of students bustling into class, those weekend thoughts flew from my mind as I heard, “This is a lock down.This is not a drill.”

My first thought was, “Is this really not a drill? Is this really happening?”

In my three years at Burlingame High I had not experienced such a thing as a lock down. Students were quickly ducking under their desks and I followed suit, my eyes searching for my teacher for instructions.

If you have ever been to during passing periods (the 5 minutes between classes), it can be quite loud and chaotic with students going in every direction, so my sixth period teacher did not even hear the announcement. But when the students informed him, he quickly shifted into lock down mode -- ordering students to crouch in the corner, turning off lights and ushering in students from the hallway.

The first 10 minutes or so, as I was squished in the corner, were very quiet and a bit nerve racking because we had no idea what was going on. But as minutes passed, the tension and anxiety decreased. We all received texts and rumors about a bomb threat in the C building, but everything was ok.

After we had been hiding in classrooms for about an hour, we evacuated to the football field and reunited with friends. Everyone shared stories about how they reacted when they heard the announcement.  Some crouched between the seats in the pitch black theatre. Some anxiously awaited announcements. Some casually read books or whispered to friends to pass the time.There was a wide range of emotions ranging from those who feared a gunman on campus to those who thought it was just a drill or a hoax.

Afterwards, I was surprised by how many students described this as “the most exciting thing that has happened at BHS.” I thought about it. Yes, at one point my adrenaline was pumping and the event unified the school, but I hope in the future we can find some excitement from a source other than a bomb threat.