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District Considers Demolishing & Rebuilding Columbine High School

Published

4 years ago

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  • On Thursday the school district for Columbine High School asked the community their thoughts about tearing down and rebuilding the school.
  • The district says that since the mass shooting 20 years ago, the Denver area high school has been a “source of inspiration and motivation” for other school shootings.
  • Some argue that the decision might help survivors since staff members from schools that have experienced similar tragedies have said they find it difficult to return to the scene of the crime.

Community Considers Rebuilding

The school district for Columbine High School is considering destroying and rebuilding the school due to the increasing “morbid fascination” of the mass shooting that took place 20 years ago.

On Thursday, the superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools, Jason Glass, published a letter to the community. Glass starts the letter acknowledging the horrific event that took place in April 1999 and how the Denver suburb high school became the “point of origin” for school shootings to follow.

“School shooters refer to and study the Columbine shooting as a macabre source of inspiration and motivation,” Glass wrote. “Called “Columbiners,” there are people across the globe obsessed with the Columbine shooting.”

He cites an incident from April, around the anniversary of the Columbine shooting. A Florida woman known to be obsessed with the massacre, made her way to the Denver area causing 20 schools to be locked down. Glass adds that within the past 11 months, people attempting to illegally enter Columbine High School have increased to “now record levels.”

“Today school safety experts recommend tearing down buildings where school shootings take place,” he explains. “Since the morbid fascination with Columbine has been increasing over the years, rather than dissipating, we believe it is time for our community to consider this option for the existing Columbine building.”

Glass also explains what changes would be expected if a new school is constructed. The school’s name, mascot, and colors would not change, and instead of completely relocating, the new building would be near the current location.

“The existing building would be demolished, replaced with fields, and controlled entry points,” the letter states. “The new building would have enhanced safety features, designed to provide greater monitoring and school privacy”

While the idea of building a new high school is “in the very preliminary and exploratory stages” as noted by Glass, he wants to know the communities thoughts. He also provided them a link to a survey at the end of the letter.

If the Proposal Passes

The letter lays out the financial implications that would affect the residents of the district, noting that voters would need to approve an additional $60 to $70 million for the construction. Glass uses the example of a $500,000 home in Jefferson County, to explain that property tax impact would be around one or two dollars a month.

In 2018, the county voted to pass a $567 million bond investment to improve schools throughout Jefferson County. Each school got a specific amount depending on the improvements needed. Columbine High School was alotted just under $15 million for their projects, including improving security cameras, locks, and entrances.

Glass states in his letter those funds could be used for the construction of a new Columbine or re-distributed to other schools in Jefferson County.

Why rebuild?

After tragedies like shootings, schools often remain closed until any physical damage, such as bullet holes or blood stains, are fixed. Schools will often permanently close any areas that were at the center of the violence in hopes to ease anxiety. Columbine closed their library, which was the epicenter of the 1999 shooting and opened a new one two years later.

Crisis-response team leader for the National Association of School Psychologists, Cathy Kennedy-Paine, explained that physically being in the area where a tragedy took place can trigger anxiety.

“Obviously going back into a room that you had been in during a shooting would be traumatic, your heart races, suddenly you’re back to the day [of the shooting],” she told the Atlantic.

Teachers from other schools and districts that experience shootings agree with Kennedy-Paine.

“It was an exhausting year,” Rancho Tehama elementary school teacher Ken Yuers told Slate. “Sometimes before I went in that classroom, I would be in that staff room just trying to get myself together.”

Mary-Ann Jacobs, who was a library clerk at Sandy Hook, also told the magazine that she had to put her own feelings aside in order to be there for the students.

“We had 11 children, 6-year-olds, who survived in the two classrooms where the shooters were…It meant, again, putting aside our own grief and trauma every day.”

For a new Columbine High School to be part of November 2019 elections, the county school board must approve the ballot issues by the end of August.

Editor’s Note: At Rogue Rocket, we make it a point to not include the names and pictures of mass murders or suspected mass murderers who may have been seeking attention or infamy. Therefore, we will not be linking to other sources, as they may contain these details.

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U.S.

White Supremacist Propaganda Reached Record High in 2022, ADL Finds

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2 weeks ago

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March 9, 2023

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 “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.

White supremacist propaganda in the U.S. reached record levels in 2022, according to a report published Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center of Extremism.

The ADL found over 6,700 cases of white supremacist propaganda in 2022, which marks a 38% jump from the nearly 4,900 cases the group found in 2021. It also represents the highest number of incidents ever recorded by the ADL. 

The propaganda tallied by the anti-hate organization includes the distribution of racist, antisemitic, and homophobic flyers, banners, graffiti, and more. This propaganda has spread substantially since 2018, when the ADL found just over 1,200 incidents. 

“There’s no question that white supremacists and antisemites are trying to terrorize and harass Americans with their propaganda,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash.” 

The report found that there were at least 50 white supremacist groups behind the spread of propaganda in 2022, but 93% of it came from just three groups. One of those groups was also responsible for 43% of the white supremacist events that took place last year. 

White supremacist events saw a startling uptick of their own, with the ADL documenting at least 167, a 55% jump from 2021. 

Propaganda was found in every U.S. state except for Hawaii, and events were documented in 33 states, most heavily in Massachusetts, California, Ohio, and Florida.

“The sheer volume of white supremacist propaganda distributions we are documenting around the country is alarming and dangerous,” Oren Segal, Vice President of the ADL’s Center on Extremism said in a statement. “Hardly a day goes by without communities being targeted by these coordinated, hateful actions, which are designed to sow anxiety and create fear.”

“We need a whole-of-society approach to combat this activity, including elected officials, community leaders, and people of good faith coming together and condemning this activity forcefully,” Segal continued. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (The Hill) (The New York Times)

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Business

Adidas Financial Woes Continue, Company on Track for First Annual Loss in Decades

Published

3 weeks ago

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March 8, 2023

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Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

Yeezy Surplus 

Adidas’ split with musician Kanye West has left the company with financial problems due to surplus Yeezy products, putting the sportswear giant in the position to potentially suffer its first annual loss in over 30 years. 

Adidas dropped West last year after he made a series of antisemitic remarks on social media and other broadcasts. His Yeezy line was a staple for Adidas, and the surplus product is due, in part, to the brand’s own decision to continue production during the split.

According to CEO Bjorn Gulden, Adidas continued production of only the items already in the pipeline to prevent thousands of people from losing their jobs. However, that has led to the unfortunate overabundance of Yeezy sneakers and clothes. 

On Wednesday, Gulden said that selling the shoes and donating the proceeds makes more sense than giving them away due to the Yeezy resale market — which has reportedly shot up 30% since October.

“If we sell it, I promise that the people who have been hurt by this will also get something good out of this,” Gulden said in a statement to the press. 

However, Gulden also said that West is entitled to a portion of the proceeds of the sale of Yeezys per his royalty agreement.

The Numbers 

Adidas announced in February that, following its divergence from West, it is facing potential sales losses totaling around $1.2 billion and profit losses of around $500 million. 

If it decides to not sell any more Yeezy products, Adidas is facing a projected annual loss of over $700 million.

Outside of West, Adidas has taken several heavy profit blows recently. Its operating profit reportedly fell by 66% last year, a total of more than $700 million. It also pulled out of Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which cost Adidas nearly $60 million dollars. Additionally, China’s “Zero Covid” lockdowns last year caused in part a 36% drop in revenue for Adidas compared to years prior.

As a step towards a solution, Gulden announced that the company is slashing its dividends from 3.30 euros to 0.70 euro cents per share pending shareholder approval. 

Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

“Adidas has all the ingredients to be successful. But we need to put our focus back on our core: product, consumers, retail partners, and athletes,” Gulden said. “I am convinced that over time we will make Adidas shine again. But we need some time.”

See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The New York Times) (CNN)

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U.S.

Immigration Could Be A Solution to Nursing Home Labor Shortages

Published

3 weeks ago

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March 7, 2023

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98% of nursing homes in the United States are experiencing difficulty hiring staff. 

The Labor Crisis 

A recent National Bureau of Economic Research paper has offered up a solution to the nursing home labor shortage: immigration. 

According to a 2022 American Health Care Association survey, six in ten nursing homes are limiting new patients due to staffing issues. The survey also says that 87% of nursing homes have staffing shortages and 98% are experiencing difficulty hiring. 

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) outlined in their paper that increased immigration could help solve the labor shortage in nursing homes. Immigrants make up 19% of nursing home workers.

With every 10% increase in female immigration, nursing assistant hours go up by 0.7% and registered nursing hours go up by 1.1% And with that same immigration increase, short-term hospitalizations of nursing home residents go down by 0.6%.

The Solution 

Additionally, the State Department issued 145% more EB-3 documents, which are employment-based visas, for healthcare workers in the 2022 fiscal year than in 2019, suggesting that more people are coming to the U.S. to work in health care. 

However, according to Skilled Nursing News, in August of 2022, the approval process from beginning to end for an RN can take between seven to nine months. 

Displeasure about immigration has exploded since Pres. Joe Biden took office in 2021. According to a Gallup study published in February, around 40% of American adults want to see immigration decrease. That is a steep jump from 19% in 2021, and it is the highest the figure has been since 2016.

However, more than half of Democrats still are satisfied with immigration and want to see it increased. But with a divided Congress, the likelihood of any substantial immigration change happening is pretty slim. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (KHN) (Skilled Nursing News)

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