Reply #154: A couple of reasons I believe [View All]

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School campuses are the focus of frustration for young people who are still learning to cope with big adult things like sexuality and what they are going to do with their lives. Add the inherent general emotional unstability of many young adults, some prescription drugs, alcohol, and other substances, and you have a volatile sitation looking for a place to happen.

Doing something violent at a school carries a much stronger emotional component than the same crime would at other locations, because we all want to think of schools as safe places. And usually they are safe, because people are there either to teach or to learn.

The lax security many schools enjoy, important for academic freedom, also makes it too easy for someone to bring a dangerous weapon into places where a lot of defenseless people are gathered.