An evacuation and fire drill was conducted  by Principal Steve Parnther on Tuesday, Aug. 26. This was the first drill that took place following the bomb threat on April 15.

The drill is one of three mandatory drills that will take place this year. This drill occurred during homeroom and required all grade levels and staff to meet on the football field. According to Parnther, the school was able to fully evacuate in three minutes and 30 seconds. The drill demonstrated the official plan for emergencies in the future.

Parnther states the football field is a good option to have as a safe zone because it is far enough away that students will not be harmed in the event of an emergency, and it gives medical teams and police better access to the building. There are a total of 2600 students enrolled at West, making it a large students body to account for. Parnther and other administrators are working on finding the best exits and routes to avoid the traffic jams in the future.

“We’re adding different pieces to our safety protocol, reviewing our safety protocols, working with schools in our area to see what kind of things that they’re doing. We are doing some research so that we are putting our staff and students in the best position to be as safe as they need to be,” Parnther said. 

There have been mixed opinions from faculty and students regarding the drill. English teacher Ronald Feiereisel believes it went smoothly and was impressed by the organization for the drill.

“I was impressed by how calmly and orderly everything was. People knew where they were going, and it was good to see that given that this is kind of a new protocol got us,” Feiereisel said.

Early childhood and fashion teacher Michelle Kline was another faculty member who thought the drill went smoothly; however, because of the drill’s time bleeding into fourth period, she had little to no time to teach her students during the class period.

“It was much more organized this time, knowing we had to end up at the football field, coming back in was fine. I wish we would’ve had an adjusted bell schedule, like extended homeroom, because of my fourth-period class. I had maybe 18 to 20 minutes with my students by the time we all got settled,” Kline said.

Entering back into the school was difficult for many students who had fourth-period lunch that day. Junior Cole Lusson and others were unable to eat lunch because of crowds of students blocking the cafeteria. The doors of the cafeteria were locked, and by the time students were let in by security, there was not enough time to eat as the bell was only a few minutes away from ringing.

“I think the evacuation drill was poorly planned because I think it should’ve been moved to a period where students didn’t have lunch. We didn’t get in until there was 13 minutes left and students still had to get into another line to get their lunch, so a lot of students didn’t end up eating,” Lusson said.

According to senior Mirela Kadic, students were piling in before security personnel got a chance to enter the cafeteria, making it hard for students to get into the cafeteria. This hold-up resulted in many being late to their fifth-period classes.

“The cafeteria was completely empty, a lot of students were banging on the doors to get in. Everyone just pushed and many students were late to their fifth-period class because they were trying to get lunch,” Kadic said.