Brick Students' Town Hall Focuses On School Security: Video

BRICK, NJ — For nearly two hours on Monday, students from Brick Township and Brick Memorial high schools listened as local officials spoke at a town hall convened by students to address their concerns about school safety.

The students had invited Brick Mayor John G. Ducey, Board of Education President Stephanie Wohlrab, Police Chief James Riccio, and Council President Heather deJong to come to the event. State Sen. Richard J. Codey, who briefly served as governor from November 2004 to January 2006, joined the town hall as well. Susan McNamara, director of curriculum and instruction, represented the district administration.

They listened as Codey, who was listed as the keynote speaker at the event, spoke at length about mental health — which many have felt has been lost in the debate about the issue. He spoke about teen suicide, and urged the students to reach out to each other, especially those who seem to be outcasts.

The town hall was a response to the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and staff and injured 16 more. It was originally set to be held on March 14, the day students walked out across the nation, because the group of students in Brick who pushed for it wanted to talk directly to the adults.

"We wanted something that would be more productive," said Alyssa Bousquet, a Brick Memorial junior. "We wanted to be able to ask questions and we wanted to be heard."

"She sent me a DM (direct message) on Instagram," Casey Murphy, a sophomore, said, and soon the two were speaking to other students and arranging for Monday's Brick Township Public Schools' Student Town Hall, which Murphy said was inspired by the town hall meeting held on CNN with some of the surviving Parkland students where they had the opportunity to ask questions of politicians, the Broward County sheriff and others and express their thoughts.

"It (the town hall) started out as a walkout but we wanted it something more," Bousquet said.

Communities across the country have been grappling with what to do to make their schools more secure and their students and staff safer in the wake of the Parkland shootings, and on Monday the students — the entire student body at Brick Memorial and about 150 students from Brick Township High School — packed into the gym at Brick Memorial to hear some of those efforts.

Wohlrab told them about plans being made in the school budget right now to add vestibules and other security improvements to the district's schools. Ducey spoke of the town's efforts to support the police department that include hiring officers whose role will be added security for the schools.

Riccio spoke of the training and technology the police department has right now to respond to an incident — which has become a focal point of concern following reports out of Florida that security officers did not go into the building and try to engage the shooter.

"Our officers are trained to run to gunfire," Riccio said, emphasizing that Brick Township police officers have been receiving active shooter training for years.

Riccio also spoke of preventive efforts by the police department, which include software the police department is purchasing to monitor social media for potential threats, and a program that will allow students and staff members to anonymously report behavior that is concerning.

"I know bizarre is considered normal these days," Riccio said, "but sometimes bizarre isn't normal. If you have a concern, report it."

McNamara emphasized some of the other security measures, which include no longer allowing parents to drop off items students have forgotten after a certain point in the school day. Police officers will be physically walking through the buildings on their patrol shifts, and parking in school parking lots when they pause to fill out an incident report, to provide a deterrent.

Codey spoke about New Jersey's gun laws and efforts that are underway to tighten them further, including bills that were passed by the state Assembly on Monday. Among them is a bill that would allow a family member or law enforcement official to file a court order requesting a dangerous individual be barred from purchasing a gun. If granted, the order would last a year and could be extended for another year.

Codey, who was listed as the keynote speaker, also spoke at length about mental health — which many pushing back on the calls for more gun control have cited as a critical but forgotten piece of the issue of trying to prevent school shootings.

"We should not be embarrassed to seek help and to talk about it," Codey said, "because there is so much that can be done to make the lives (of those struggling with mental health issues) better."

Codey also addressed the issue of teen suicide, and urged the students to reach out to their fellow schoolmates and befriend them, including those who are considered the outcasts.

The students who pushed for the town hall — Megan Bousquet and Alyssa Bousquet, Kayle Martin, Casey Murphy, Sydney Freay, Natalie Barneman, Victoria Plumacher and Melissa Cutler from Brick Memorial and Jane Stemmerman and Dan Venezia from Brick Township — not only asked questions of the adults, they urged their fellow classmates to take responsibility as well.

"Follow the rules. When you hold (an outside) door open for someone, when you come in through a door you're not supposed to, you're putting us all at risk," Megan Bousquet said.

"As students, we should not be scared to come to school every day," said Sydney Freay, a Brick Memorial senior. "We need our schools to be safe because things can go downhill in a matter of six minutes, just as they did at Parkland."

"If you want change, make your voice heard," Freay said.

"It is time for us to become the generation that inspires change," Casey Murphy said. "Remember those who look to discredit the voices of those who have experienced these mass shootings."

"As Americans we possess the right to speak out about issues that matter and problems that affect us as students," Alyssa Bousquet said. "This issue is affecting students of every age in every school across America."

"We cannot have another Parkland. We cannot have another Sandy Hook, and we do not want one of our schools to be next," she said.

Afterward the students showed they had been listening to the adults, as a group of students approached Riccio and showed him a social media message that concerned them, handing over a phone so the chief could read the message.

There was one question asked that was never answered. A student from the bleachers asked Codey what adults were doing to end the constant back-and-forth that goes on between adults "so we can come together for real solutions."

Codey's response was to talk about gun control laws in place and the bills in the Legislature now; he never directly answered the student's question, and no one else addressed it. Were they listening?

"We have been pushed aside too long," Casey Murphy said.

Photos by Karen Wall, Patch staff