Innocence Lost

 
(Photo credit: VOA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

 
The terrifying familiarity this past week of yet another mass shooting at a school—this time at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24—shocked the nation. Some believe American society is becoming numb to gun violence, but the outpouring of grief and anger since word came of the twenty-one lives claimed by a homicidal young gunman in Uvalde is real and profound. So is the frustration we all endure in the face of predictable inaction by elected officials and the inevitability of history repeating itself.
 
The fact active shooter drills now figure prominently in virtually every child’s experience, as well as the renewed calls for “hardening” our schools and arming teachers, is nothing less than tragic. The agonizing fallout of mass shooting events most notably includes their pernicious impact upon the mental health of children. Researchers cite increasing evidence that exposure to actual gun violence or its threat leads to chronic trauma (PTSD), increased anxiety and paranoia, and inhibited brain development among some. Unabated, the adverse societal costs will continue to grow incalculably.    
 
The responses to mass shootings in our schools are manifold, including calls to do everything possible to prevent a repeat occurrence. Of course, proactive design measures to enhance school safety are among these responses. Common sense, strategic design principles—such as strictly controlled entrances, hiding spaces, and escape routes in case of an emergency—are already familiar to architects like me who are involved in the design of schools. So too is our charge to implement these solutions in ways that do not result in buildings that resemble fortresses or prisons more than the nurturing places for learning and socialization they should be, first and foremost.    
 
But as Blair Kamin (the former architecture critic for the Chicago Tribune) wrote in 2019 about how the design for a new high school in the small community of Fruitport, Michigan prioritized thwarting active shooters, there’s only so much architecture can do to prevent another Thurston High School, Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary School, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, or Robb Elementary School tragedy.(1) The bottom line is school design is by no means the real solution to a confoundingly intractable problem.
 
These high-profile events demand that school districts across the country allocate their limited resources toward implementing well-intended security measures, rather than directly investing in teaching and education. Communities across the nation have spent and will continue to spend billions of dollars in efforts to deter murderously deranged shooters, money that otherwise might reward and support the curiosity, intellect, creativity, and brilliance of young minds.
 
AIA EVP/Chief Executive Officer Lakisha Woods issued the following statement on behalf of the American Institute of Architects in response to last Tuesday’s heartrending news:
 
This is a time of reflection. There are no words that can adequately express our compassion or sorrow for the families touched by the unspeakable and senseless tragedy visited on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas this week. Yet again, we are reminded that life is precious and impermanent, that we must cherish the moments we have with those who we hold most dear, and that we are all connected because we are all human.
 
The outpouring of love, concern, and sorrow following this latest school shooting is a small light in the darkness reminding us of what’s best about humanity—compassion, courage, and understanding. Our collective, and compounding traumas—school shootings, community violence, armed conflicts around the world, a global pandemic and epidemic of mental health issues, and inequity in society make it more important than ever to prioritize kindness, empathy, and grace. That can be hard because this era of trauma can weaken our connections to our best selves, our family, friends, and community.
 
The AIA is speaking out because the built world touches everyone’s life and because our members use the power of design to make a positive difference every day. The AIA is speaking out to put voice to our members’ collective sorrow and steadfast resolve to achieve a positive difference through the power of design.
 
That is why we all must work to advance a vision of society that alienates no one and empowers everyone equitably. We can realize that vision by remembering that of all the titles we may have—spouse, sibling, friend, coworker—the one appellation that matters the most is being human.

As we find ways to cope with this latest trauma, let’s take a few minutes over the long Memorial Day weekend to reflect on how we can work together to create, enhance, promote, and protect a sense of community, connection, and sense of belonging, for everyone, everywhere in our daily lives and through our work in communities . . . “
 
Regrettably, the timid AIA statement offers little more than the empty “thoughts and prayers” so often extended by those who lack the real empathy or political courage to legislate even the most sensible and modest of changes. The scornful dissent from many AIA members was immediate and pointed:

 

As Paul Goldberger says rightfully, AIA National’s position is worse than banal. And as Kriston Capps warns, the Uvalde massacre is an issue for architects because some politicians will parrot Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s call for radical changes to school building standards. I know in the absence of action on other fronts, any such changes will fail to meaningfully reduce or eliminate the reasons why mass killings occur.
 
Tellingly, AIA’s Committee on Architecture for Education Twitter account was locked after taking a much less equivocal stance than the parent organization about gun violence:

 

 

I find the divisiveness of the current discourse on school security and the reticence of some to assume a moral stance in response to mass shootings dismaying. That such a discussion is even necessary and at the forefront of our thinking when we design schools is perhaps most disheartening.
 
I’m saddened not only by the fact a gunman armed to the teeth took the lives of nineteen young third & fourth graders and two educators, and the fact mass shootings are a reality we must confront, but also by the collateral damage these horrific events inflict. Despair and fear of being shot should not be a constant for students and teachers, nor should parents have to worry unceasingly for the safety of their children, and yet here we stand. My memories of school are filled with joy, optimism, and innocence. Today’s youngsters live with the pall of guns in schools hanging over them. Count me among those demanding real change and the limitation of unfettered access to semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines.
 
 
(1)    The litany of school shootings is somber evidence of an almost uniquely American malignancy.