After the events of a 17 yr old in Florida going Commando with an AR-15 just yesterday, killing and injuring many, schools across this country are either on elevated or high alerts. For one school district in California associated with both military and civilian city children, you would wonder why even the highest of alerts fail to adequately provide notice to parents or legal guardians.
Vandenberg Middle School of Lompoc, California had a not so rare incident just today- a bomb threat by a student.
The city of Lompoc is operated by both Lompoc Unified School District (LUSD) as well as charters held within the District with local "schools of choice" with military students. Lompoc Unified is riddled with not only crime from the students of many age ranges, but is also riddled with concealed violence within peers.
You may ask why I am writing this article. Not so long ago, I posted a picture and video of two young teenage girls who decided to post a violent video on their own Public Instagram Account intended for what assumably would be “friends only”. That video became viral over the fact the girls involved were daughters of Air Force Command stationed at the nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base who were previously known and recognized in their community as delinquent minors with a past of breaking into vacant homes on base. Children of many ages not only participated in mob recording but stood back as not so innocent bystanders enjoying a girl getting her hair ripped at and kicked or punched in the side, back and head.
Accountability has yet to take place.
Within the past month, the local Cabrillo High School had a young girl engage in an act of assault on a teacher where the peers did literally nothing and instead made videos viral in a staging of humor as though this type of behavior is all too normal in their not so quaint little town.
Today, a Vandenberg Middle School Field Trip bus left the facility intended for a day of fun learning and excitement. What would occur next would strike fear in many of the children aboard, confused and worried about what was to happen next.
The bus was turned around, teenage children aboard lined up and searched and then eventually released. Where is the problem you ask? When a young girl texts her grandmother and guardian stating “There are Army guys everywhere and I am scared”, what would be your first concern?
Do you call the police?
Do you call the school?
WHO DO YOU CALL AND ARE THE CHILDREN OKAY?!
Lompoc Unified School District Business Services Office is currently declining to respond and answer requests for information regarding the incident and have deferred to “we will be sending a letter home with the students”.
When asked if that letter would be uploaded to the District Website for transparency purposes for other family members to have readily available, Ms. Angelica Hernandez declined to answer and instead elected no response at all placing me on hold.
Upon returning to the phone call, Ms. Hernandez kindly asked that I submit a formal request to her e-mail so she could formally respond. My official request is below.
I have received word that many, if not all, parents or guardians, thus far have not been notified by Lompoc Unified School District of this bomb threat that involved their children’s schools.
The question lays here. If a school shooting such as Florida yesterday were to occur, would these parents also be getting panic phone calls, text messages, or live feeds from facebook in order to be informed such as the bomb threat in question that took place today? Where do we as a society draw a line and say damnit, what the hell is going on and why were parents not told when events were transpiring so as to ensure the safety and or evacuation of their own child?
This also elevates the importance of questions asked previously. Many of the students at Vandenberg Middle School are in fact “Military Brats”. What standard(s) are these students being held to? It is clear by the local demeanor in even asking about this incident that the “sweep under the rug” mentality is prevalent not only in one small town but in fact solidifies why such a small practice needs such a huge overhaul countrywide.
This is no longer just about “gun violence” or “bomb threats” but more or less about the lack of parenting that is occurring (NOT) in this country.
Do you know where your children are and what they are doing? Food for thought.
LUSD responses to follow when received.
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