There is an alarming trend in the United States over the past few years of violence and death in our education system. Schools should be a sacred place to learn in a safe and nurturing environment. Children who live in high-crime neighborhoods traditionally have 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 briefly forget their troubled lives. Students from wealthier areas are unable to understand how violence and death could encroach 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 experienced violence in our educational institutions ask this question every day. Although school attacks represent 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, a student or a school official to commit unspeakable atrocities by the time the police arrive. Whether at the federal, state, or local level, I believe our elected officials have an obligation to provide properly trained and armed security personnel at all educational institutions. I believe the presence of even a small security force would help deter many premeditated attacks. In the event an attack occurs, armed security guards could keep the offender(s) occupied until the police arrive, potentially saving lives. To understand this problem, we must first understand that guns are not going away any time soon. They are part of the American character as well as our Constitution. A ...... middle of paper ......n Events April 23, 2007: 6. MAS Ultra - School edition. Internet. April 27, 2014. Freeman, Roger A. The Capricious Welfare State. Stanford, CA: 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 – Academic 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 vital statistics reports. 2013Zadrozny, Brandy. “The school shootings you haven’t heard about – one every two weeks since Newtown.” US News, December 13, 2013. Web. April 27. 2014.