East High School fell a victim to a school shooting on March 7, 2022, East was one of the 300 schools in the U.S that year that endured a sense of fear and tragedy on their campus. Jose David Lopez unfortunately lost his life that day due to a drive by shooting on school grounds, the motive being suspected gang related activity. While Lopez was not a current student at East, the two others who were involved were students. One in a car. One standing next to him when stray bullets hit them, both were taken to the hospital in critical condition, both survived but both lives were changed forever. From that day forward the whole East side community shifted, and that day East High School was added to the list, a victim of school shootings, the deemed “unsafe school”.
The news outlets covered the shooting in a way that displayed East as a horrible school, but yet none of news outlets covered the East side community coming together, or the immense amount of support the school offered to everyone.
If you search up East on Google, there is a list of suggested topics to look up, the reoccurring one being “East High School Des Moines Iowa School Shooting”. Not any of those suggestions mention the amazing things East has achieved over the years, such as the culture and community night events, the improvements or achievements accomplished, but instead, a shooting.
A senior at the time was inside the school when the sound of gunshots fired from outside the building, the school went under lockdown. She experienced the one thing parents fear when they send their children off to school. The one thing students and teachers never think would happen to them. That senior was my sister.
I was in eighth grade at the time, planning to attend East High School in the fall as a freshman. The rumors, the fear and these questions lingered in my head even I couldn’t escape. Will it be me next? Will I be the one texting my parents that I love them? I would be lying if I said I was one of those people who was fearful of stepping on the grounds.
It all felt strange, until I walked into the building, I felt secure. The halls were not filled with fear, but rather acceptance and support. There was no danger, there was genuine people.
East is not like other schools, East gives you the real and the raw. There are no cover ups for occurring issues, they vocalize it and grow from it. The diversity, the acceptance, the kind of environment where you feel safe and secure, a place in which it doesn’t try to define you or mold you to fit into the societal standard. That is what makes East different.
I’m not desensitized or unaware of the horrible tragedy that occurred four years ago, but instead focusing on the past, the present should remain a priority. There is nothing East could have done that day to a avoid such a tragedy, the actions of a singular group of people that day not only sparked fear and loss but made an undesirable reputation that would never recover.
I hate that my school, my community continues to get bashed over and over again by the people who have yet to walk on the grounds because they are frightened but yet are not afraid to run East High Schools name into the ground. If I can shift my outlook on East High School, so can you. I will continue to defend East High School, so can you.