Recent years in the United States have seen an alarming trend of violence and death in our education system. Schools should be a sacred place to learn in a safe and comfortable environment. Children living in high-crime neighborhoods have traditionally had only one safe place to go: school. Once at school, these students should be able to look forward to a safe and stimulating day of learning and should be able to forget about their troubled lives for a short time. Students from wealthier areas are unable to understand how violence and death can intrude on their learning time. Our parents love us, why would they send us somewhere for eight hours a day if it wasn't safe? I am sure that many students who have witnessed or been victims of violence in our educational institutions ask themselves this question every day. Although school attacks make up a very small percentage of violent crimes, we have every right to expect our government officials to keep our students safe. . In this crazy world, all it takes is one armed intruder, student, or school official to commit unspeakable atrocities in the time it takes for the police to arrive. Whether at the federal, state, or local level, I think our elected officials have an obligation to provide armed, properly trained security personnel at all institutions of learning. I believe the presence of even a small security force would help deter many premeditated attacks. If an attack were to occur, armed security officers could keep the perpetrators busy until the police arrived, possibly saving lives. To understand this issue, you must first realize that firearms are not going away anytime soon. They are part of the American personality as well as our Constitution. A...... middle of paper ......n Events April 23, 2007:6. MAS Ultra - School edition. Network. April 27, 2014.Freeman, Roger A. The Rebel Welfare State. Stanford, California: Hoover Institution Press, 1981. Print.Kohn, David. “What Really Happened at Columbine.” CBS News, April 17, 2001. Web.April 27, 2014. Miller, Mark. “Should campus security be armed? NO." AFT ON CAMPUS, November/December 2009. Web. April 27, 2014. "NRA Response to Sandy Hook: Federally Funded Police in Schools." New American (08856540) 29.2 (2013): 8. MAS Ultra - School Edition. April 27, 2014.Osawa, Steve. “Should Campus Security Be Armed? AFT ON CAMPUS, November/December 2009. Web. April 27, 2014. United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National reports on vital statistics.2013Zadrozny, Brandy. “The school shootings you haven't heard about: one every two weeks since Newtown.” U.S. News, December 13, 2013. Web. April 27. 2014.