by AJ Ortega and Tim Skeval
On Friday Nov.13, a series of planned attacks by the terrorist group ISIS were carried out all over Paris, France. The world went into shock. Social media blew up with prayers and videos about the attacks. Police went on a search for the attackers, but there were 11 of them. So far nine have been killed but two still remain on the run.
Word of the attacks spread fast. Students at Jamesville-DeWitt High School heard of it shortly after it happened. “I looked at my phone and it just had alerts that Paris had been bombed,” said senior Nolan Roosa. Many students were trying to comprehend what had just happened. “I was shocked, but realized it happens a lot so we need to be prepared,” said freshman Sophia Vinciguerra.
If you didn’t find out through the news, you could definitely find out through social media. On average there are 40 million posts a day on Instagram and 100 tweets a second or 60,000 a minute. On Nov. 13, there was 84 million posts and 94 million tweets. These messages contained everything from prayers to people sharing pictures of the scene. “Social media helped expose it,” said freshman Marc Baum, who found out via Instagram. There was a “good blow-up” on social media said Roosa, because it “helped people find out quicker.”
There really isn’t a way to prevent attacks so student think all we can do is try to prepare the best we can. “We need to boost security and make sure everyone has a plan of what we should do and where we should go,” said sophomore Claire DiGiovanni. Many students think there is a high risk of future attacks. “I’m always worried, You have to be so cautious nowadays,” said science teacher Michael Keefe.
Part of this fear has influenced the Syrian refugee “issue,” which has been a hot topic in today’s news. All kinds of people have all kinds of opinions on this “problem.” Many people believe we should let refugees into the country. “It’s what we are here for (because) we don’t know what it’s like to live in a war zone,” said Mr. Keefe. Others, like sophomore John Bridge, believe we shouldn’t let refugees into the country. “We don’t know if they are part of ISIS or not,” says Bridge, “it’s better to be safe then sorry.”
An event that has been loosely tied to the ISIS attachs happened in San Bernadino, California on Wednesday Dec. 2, when a man and a woman stormed into the Inland Regional Center and opened fire. The country went into shock. “(I was) confused,” said freshman Nolan Kinahan. Syed Rizwan Farook, an American citizen and Tashfeen Malik, a permanent resident, had been planning the attack ever since co-workers of Farook had insulted his religion. The day of the attack, Farook was at a Christmas party at the Regional Center, when he secretly slipped out and and returned an hour later with his wife But this time, he was not dress for the party, but dressed for disaster. He and his wife opened fire, killing 14 and injuring 17. Farook and Malik were killed four hours later after a shootout with police. Many are looking for links to ISIS in the background of the shooters.
