It’s happened again, and nobody can really say anything new on the topic – but I’ll say something anyway.

People shouldn’t have to worry about getting shot at school.

Yet, it happens.

Since Virginia Tech there have been 8 in school shootings – in middle schools, high schools and universities. I remember thinking after the Virginia Tech shootings, ‘This is as bad as it gets. It just can’t get any worse. And somebody will finally do something about it.’

They’ll finally realize that people shouldn’t have such easy access to guns. The gunman who opened fire at NIU today had not one, but three guns. The shooters at Columbine had four. In 2000, a shooting at an elementary school was caused by a six year old’s easy access to a firearm.

Imagine all those people tonight, holding Valentine’s Day gifts for the people they love, and never being able to give them away. Imagine the parents and friends who, instead of being able to spend time with their child or friend, are grieving.

So why, after all this pain, are guns still so easy to access? Don’t you think that people would’ve learned by now?

I’m not suggesting that we wipe all guns of the face of the earth – it’s simply not possible. Besides, no matter what we do to try and suppress it, evil (or maybe just insanity) will always lurk among us. People will always find a way to hurt others.

But we have to make it really difficult for them to do so. Protecting others and ourselves needs to be the priority.

After the Virginia Tech shooting many universities started to implement an emergency warning system, the U of I included. Here students can sign up for the emergency messaging system, which, in the case of an emergency, will alert the students through e-mail or text messages.

I don’t know if Uni students can sign up. If something were to happen while we are at school, Uni would go in lockdown. But what would happen if we were walking back from PE or wandering around on campus?

I hope I never have to find out.