Annotated Bibliography
Arman, John F. “In the Wake of Tragedy at Columbine High School.” Professional School Counseling 3, no. 3 (February 2000). Accessed May 19, 2015. Professional Development Collection (3728471).
This document starts by introducing the reader to the effects that the Columbine Massacre had on students, teachers, and other school workers. Some of the effects were fear, disbelief, grief, and in many cases post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Then it brings up some of the needs of the people from Columbine, these people needed counseling in order to deal with their grief as members of the town, and as American’s who did not believe this would happen at their suburban school. The next section of this document talks about the changes that happened in the school in order to help the community deal with their emotions, or fears about this tragedy. This source questions why this event occurred and some of the possibilities were mental illness, violence in media, overburdened school counselors, and mental health services in schools. It also talks about how these things improved after Columbine. While the document asks this question, it answers it by saying that there is no cause of why it happened, and that nobody can understand why it happened. Both large group, and one-on-one, were provided to the students. It concludes by saying that while there are no answers about why it happened, the thing that should be focused on is that there are changes that need to be made in schools, in order to prevent school violence.
This source is a useful source because it does not offer as much background into the Columbine Tragedy, rather it talks about the impact it had on schools, and the changes that were made because of it. This source is different from other sources because it it does not focus on the events that occurred throughout the day, or quote the killers. This source talks about the impact that it had on the students, teachers, and overall community. This source is not biased, because it only presents the author’s findings about the aftermath of Columbine, even though this article starts with the author’s perspective.
This source can help the argument of the impact that Columbine had on American society, because it includes the impacts it had on schools. This source is helpful because it talks about how after Columbine, people needed a lot of counseling, however it also talks about how these programs evolved to deal with the lasting effects that the Columbine Massacre had on the community. Some of the programs it talks about are crisis counseling interventions, improved mental illness services in schools, and counseling to help students express their feelings in hopes of decreasing the possibility of more school violence. This source helps me form one of my main points about how the Columbine shooting affected schools programs for counseling.
Brooke, James. “Terror in Littleton: The Overview.” The New York Times (New York), April 21, 1999.
This source is a primary source, written in the New York Times the day after the Columbine shooting. This source is an article published with the breaking news of the event. It introduces the reader to the shooting and what is thought to have happened, including a description of the basic timeline, the gunmen, and the weapons used which were guns and pipe bombs. This source provides quotes from witnesses at the schools, about what was going on inside, and how people felt while hey were trapped inside, or running for their lives. This source also talks about people felt knowing that it could happen in their school, because they thought that the schools were safe. This article also talks about that the gunmen were part of the Trench Coat Mafia, and that they were previously bullied by athletes. This article ends with the idea that the nation has to come together and focus on improving school safety, to prevent this from happening again.
This source is especially useful because it includes witness quotes, and the American perspective of improving schools. It also includes a lot of information that has to do with the view of an American at the time of this crime. This source’s information it lightly biased because it favors the victims, rather than giving hard facts, This is because the information is given by the perspective of an American, and being an American not siding with murderers who go to school with the sole purpose of killing your peers, and a teacher. Even though this information is biased, it is still useful.
This source helps argue the fear that Columbine forced into Americans. This is because it shows that this as a tragedy, not just for Columbine, or even Colorado, this was a tragedy for the entire United States. This massacre was published in newspapers around the country for weeks after it happened. This source helps me form this argument, and use evidence from the source to back it up. This source did not change my opinion of the topic, because it is in line with everything I believe from my research on the topic, also being an American.
Clinton, William J. “Remarks on the Attack at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado and an Exchange with Reporters.” News release. Accessed May 26, 2015. History Reference Center (32394717).
This source is a news conference between reporters and the president, telling Americans that there is a lot more work to do in order to make schools safer, and prevent this from happening again. In this conference the president talks about the 53 million children who are in school now, and why we need to continue improving the conditions in schools around the country. He also talks about how he is sending more counselors to Colorado, to work with the students and teachers at Columbine because “the community is an open wound right now”. This conference focus on preventing this from happening again, and making schools safer. The President brings up the fact that he spoke to the Attorney General and the Secretary of Education about getting ready to assist law enforcement, families, schools that were affected, on a large scale.
This source is useful because it is a primary source that is from President Bill Clinton, from the day of the shooting. The information in this source is reliable because it does not use any specific facts about the shooting that came out at the time, even the president said that he did not have all of the information at the time. While this source is useful, it is also biased. This is because it is a conversation between the President and reporters, who are all against school violence and guns being used on children, for this reason the source is biased.
This source can be used because it is from the president himself, who is talking about how the shooting affected Americans, and as a result we should try harder, and put more effort into making schools safer, and preventing these massacres. This document is also is useful because it talks about increasing the number of mental health services in schools, especially the number in Colorado, because on that day April 20, 1999, it was the most dangerous place in the country. This source can also be used to argue how it impacted Americans because The President of the United States believed that this event was so important that he go in front of America and tell every person in the country about the shooting.
“The Columbine Tragedy, April 20, 1999.” Gale U.S. History in Context. Accessed May 18, 2015.
This article starts by giving insight into how America viewed not only school shootings, but also how the meaning of Columbine changed. It introduces the shooters Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold, and the weapons they brought into the school. The main point of this article is to give background into the Columbine High School Massacre. This document describes the events of that day including details of what happened inside the school that day. It quotes the shooters, as well as other people such as classmates who were in the school. It also includes a timeline of the day, starting at 11:15 am until after 4:30 pm. The names of the thirteen people killed, are also listed. Towards the end, this source includes several explanations as to what triggered this rampage, including their interest in Nazism, as well as the rock music music of Marilyn Manson. It is suggested that in order to prevent more shootings, media coverage should be reduced, because it makes the shooters instant “celebrities”.
This document offers unbiased information relating to the Columbine Massacre. There is no bias meaning that it is accurate. It is useful because it offers a time frame and the insight into the shooters lives and how they acted in school. It offers an introduction into the reason that this school shooting had such an impact on society. It is objective, and only provides an information on the affects of the Columbine shooting.
This source can assist the argument about the impact The Columbine Massacre had on American society, because it provides background into what happened during this shooting. It talks about all of the events that happened during that day. Also because it talks about how the word Columbine now means more than just the name of a small town, now it represents horror and bloodshed among the American people. While this document does not have a direct argument, it includes information about the event that is required to introduce the topic to the audience. This source has not changed my opinion of the topic because it only provides background to the shooting.
Crepeau-Hobson, M. Franci, MaryLynne Filaccio, and Linda Gottfried. “Violence Prevention after Columbine: A Survey of High School Professionals.” Children & Schools 27, no. 3 (July 2005): 157-65. Accessed May 21, 2015. Professional Development Collection (17538035).
This document opens by saying that the year of the Columbine shooting there were 177 student deaths and 84% of those deaths involved guns. It also states that over six percent of high school student regularly carry weapon into school. After the background section of this document, it starts to talk about prevention of violence in America’s youth. This section deals with the variety of programs that were introduced, and successful in preventing youth violence. This section includes the problems that these programs aimed to fix, such as risk factors and personal risks. One way this source aims to fix the problem is to introduce police presence, and have metal detectors. Both of these indirect and direct strategies will make schools safer.
This source is useful because of its statistics and the chart, however some of the sections in this study are not relevant to the argument. The sections that are relevant are the sections that deal with the mental health services and violence prevention strategies, and their results. However because this source is a professional study, there are some sections that do not relate to this argument at all. This source is reliable because it is a professional study about the mental health services in schools and how they changed after Columbine.
This document is useful because it discusses a variety of programs that aimed to prevent future violence in students, and ways to increase mental health services in order to prevent this from happening again. This document contains a chart that shows the number of schools that offer certain mental health services before and after the Columbine shooting, and the chart shows that every service provided increased (other than peer and individual counselors). In the case of crisis plans there was an increase of 20.2 percent after the Columbine shooting. This can be used in the argument about the impact Columbine had on mental health services, prevention, and school safety. This source has another table which shows the percent of schools making additional changes in violence prevention after April 1999. This table also shows that every category increased by at least 8.6 percent.
Daily Herald (Chicago, IL). “A Senseless Rampage.” April 21, 1999. Accessed May 21, 2015.
This source is a newspaper article printed the day after the shooting. It was printed and delivered all across Chicago. The headline reads, “A Senseless Rampage”, showing a picture of two people hugging, and trying to console each other. This article has several titles including, “Gunmen Belonged to Dark Group”, and “Suicide Mission”. It covers the idea that Columbine put fear into Americans. It also includes the idea that the gunmen were part of a group called the Trench Coat Mafia, whose message was “Insanity is Healthy”. This article talks about the idea that this group made derogatory comments toward minorities, and that two of the thirteen members went to school one day and killed 15 of their classmates. The purpose of this article is to inform Americans, especially those of Chicago, about what has happened at Columbine High School.
This article is a useful source because it is a primary source. While this document is biased, and does not have all accurate information, it is useful. This article says that as many as 25 were dead, which is not the actual number, because 15 died and 23 were injured. This primary source is similar to other primary sources in my bibliography because it is a newspaper article about the Columbine shooting, which was broadcast throughout Chicago and surrounding towns. The goal of this article is to show Americans the aftermath of this tragedy, even though the information is not reliable, it does show the information that was being told to people all around the country. This article gives an accurate perspective of an American at the time of the shooting.
This source can be used to argue that the Columbine shooting put fear into Americans. This is because it was displayed around Chicago, with the image of crying teenagers, labeled A Senseless Rampage. This title was meant to terrify Americans, especially parents of students going to school anywhere in the country. It also helps the argument because it labels the tragedy “A Suicide Mission”, which also scares Americans that students were able to do this.
Daly, Michael. “Colorado Horror.” Daily News (NY), April 1999.
This source is a series of newspaper articles found in the New York Daily News, relating to the Columbine tragedy. These articles range from April 22, 1999 to April 25, 1999. These articles are titled Colorado Horror, and show different aspects of the shooting. The first article pictures a young woman, possibly a student or a parent of a student, holding her head, titled “Giggling Gunmen Invade High School in Suicide Mission”, which terrified Americans. The next article shows pictures of the gunmen, and under that is a picture of an officer alongside a young man sitting on the ground. This article offers a more in depth look at the gunmen, and their actions prior to the shooting. The third article in the series is titles, “In Hitler’s Footsteps”. This also horrified Americans because it reminded Americans of the impact and effects that Hitler and World War II had on the entire world.This article focuses on the views of the gunmen including quotes from them as well. The fourth article in this newspaper series is the most shocking. This article is labeled “Told of Plans”, and headlines down the page including “Never Again”, and “A Town weeps as Rites Begin”. This article has a picture of friends of the victims uncontrollably crying, because of their loss.
This series of articles is useful because they show the emotional impacts that the shooting had on Americans. This is because they use pictures, quotes, and terrifying headlines which include references to Hitler. These articles, similar to another one in my bibliography, do not include reliable information, however these articles also provide the perspective of Americans during this time, even though they are biased.
This series of articles can help make the argument of the impacts that the Columbine shooting had on American society, because it shows that these headlines were broadcast around the country, informing Americans of what happened in Columbine. This article shocked Americans because it showed them that they could possible be affected by this, because this tragedy was the first of a sting of shootings that followed. This is because it was the worst school shooting to date, and it was being televised everywhere, making them more common.
Duplechain, Rosalind, and Robert Morris. “School Violence: Reported Shootings And Making Schools Safer.” In Education, 145-50. Vol. 135. Accessed May 19, 2015. Professional Development Collection (100464126).
This article introduces past school shootings, grouped by year, and then by the number of school shootings took place during that time. Then introduces into individual shootings such as Columbine. The first section of this document describes risk factors, or possible behaviors that might indicate if a person is likely to commit such a crime. The next section of this document talks about how schools are trying to make a safer environment for the students and teachers; these safety precautions will decrease the likelihood of a school shooting. However this document also says that these events can never be completely be prevented.These precautions fall into three main categories school and law-enforcement integration, improve the school’s environment, and the school’s curriculum. The last section of this document is a conclusion about school violence and the authors findings about how to make a school a safer place with a smaller possibility of having a shooting.
This source is useful because it is unbiased information. The document includes statistics such as the number of school shootings in the U.S. organized by time periods. It shows how the number of shootings has increased dramatically in the last 24 years, than the 230 years before that. The information is reliable, and the two authors are credible, because both of them have a PhD from the University of West Georgia, and all of their sources are cited. The goal of this source is to present the facts relating to the steps that schools have taken to make sure schools are safe for students, and teachers.
This sources is useful to the argument of how the Columbine Massacre impacted society, because it shows changes that schools have made after school shootings including Columbine. The changes were made in order to improve the environment, and the safety of the students. The information relating to the signs and behaviors that teachers should look for is also helpful. This is because it shows that this is such a widespread problem, that teachers all around are being taught to look for certain signs, or to monitor students behaviors. However this document also contains information that is not useful to this argument. The not relevant information focuses on why students have gone into schools and shoot at and kill their peers. This document focuses on how the shooting specifically impacted American schools, and how they have changed since.
Grieving. A Group of Students from Columbine High School in Littleton. 2003. Photograph. New York. Accessed May 21, 2015. Gale U.S. History in Context (PC3401887326).
This source shows a group of high school students from Columbine weeping at a memorial for their peers. The purpose of this photo is to show how Columbine effected the students directly after the incident. This document is aimed at Americans to show them the aftermath of the Columbine tragedy. This photo covers the idea of the fear that it put into Americans.
This source is a photo taken after the shooting, to show how the students reacted, and how hurt they were. This photo is reliable because it is a primary source, and it hasn’t been altered. This source is unlike other sources i my bibliography. This is because it is a picture not an article containing pictures. This photo does not have a description, or any other written evidence.
This source can help the argument that Columbine put fear into Americans. This is because it shows how Americans were distraught, and were mourning over their peers who were killed. This picture shows Americans that this tragedy happened in a suburban school, and that it could happen anywhere.
Hanes, Ed Richard C. “School Violence.” In Crime and Punishment in American Reference Library, 378-91. Vol. 2. Detroit, MI: n.p., 2005. Accessed May 21, 2015. Gale U.S.History in Context (CX3441000041).
This document begins with the fact that deadly violence of schools “struck fear” into the public, especially in students across the nation. This document offers background about school violence in general, and how it had dropped 10% between 1995 and 1999, however the Columbine massacre did not fit into this category. This document shows that the Columbine massacre took place in a time when violent deaths in schools had decreased by 40%, which lead up to the deadliest school shooting in American history to date. On the first page of this document it shows a picture taken from the school surveillance footage in the cafeteria during the shooting, which also shows some of the bombs exploding. It also shows that Americans believed that school shootings were a “inner-city” problem however, Columbine is a suburb, which shocked Americans. The second section of this document deals with the history of school discipline. It then goes on to talk about other school shootings, and then the affects of bullying. Then there is a section about Columbine, which talks about the types of weapons they used, and that these were not average firearms, these were sawed off shotguns, and semiautomatic handguns. The last section of this document relates to prevention of violence in the future.
This source is useful because it talks about preventing this tragedy in the future, and insight into the massacre itself. This document is different than other documents in my bibliography because it talks about the Columbine shooting, as well as the time period when deadly school violence was on a steady decline. It also talks about the weapons that Eric and Dylan used, including 97 explosives; where as most of my sources focus on the impact the massacre had, rather than what happened during the shooting.
This document aids in the argument of the school safety, mental health service, and prevention impacts that Columbine had on society. This is because the source shows schools that have adapted to having police forces, and metal detectors in their entrances. It also has pictures of Columbine memorials that show students mourning for their friends. It also talks about the programs that were added to help the students who were at-risk. Such programs include working on improving social skills, setting academic expectations, finding peaceful ways to resolve problems and mentoring.
Morning Edition. “Colorado Pushes for Concealed Guns in K-12 Schools.” NPR. February 27, 2015. Performed by Kiefert, Balow, Katie Lyles, Patrick Neville, and Jaggi. Accessed May 19, 2015. Gale U.S. History in Context (A406208349).
This document is a radio program including one of the students who was present at the Columbine shooting, Patrick Neville. This discussion is discussing the bill of allowing law abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons on school grounds. One side of the argument is that armed guards could deter bad guys from attempting violence. In addition, it states that guns might be necessary in rural towns where the local law enforcement is 20 or 30 miles away making it nearly impossible for them to make it in time to help stop shooters. The final point is that if there were armed guards present in schools and a shooter entered the building, these guards would be able to protect the students and faculty possibly reducing the number of casualties. This radio program also offers the other side of the argument that guns and kids do not mix, saying that there is no place that a teacher can safely put a gun and be able to get it quickly enough to get it out in time if something happened. This source also covers two of the possible gun laws created because of the Columbine Shooting.
This source is biased because it offers the opinions of a student who was in Columbine High School, and who saw the shooters take over a dozen lives. He is biased because he believes that with this legislation, some of their lives, his friends, could have been saved at Columbine. Another perspective in this broadcast is a third grade teacher. She believes that guns and kids do not go together, and she does not believe that it is safe to have a gun around young children because accidents can happen. A third perspective shown in this broadcast is that of a Wyoming woman who is possibly biased because of where she grew up, who believes that having guns or armed guards in all schools does not make sense, even though it might in some areas.
This source will aid in the argument of the impact that Columbine Massacre had on society. This is because it shows that there are laws being created in order to prevent more school shootings. These laws also show how affected the American people, because they show the fear that Americans had that this could possibly happen in a school near them. Because this source uses multiple perspectives of Americans, it will help argue that Columbine affected Americans perspectives of gun control and gun rights. Also because it uses examples of legislation that have been proposed, and could be passed into law.
Soraghan, Mike. “Colorado after the Gun Debate.” State Legislatures 26, no. 6 (June 2000): 14-22. Accessed May 27, 2015. MasterFILE Premier (3229366).
This source is a article about the laws that resulted from the Columbine shootings. The first part of this document includes the an interview with Robyn Anderson, who was the young girl who bought the guns for Eric and Dylan before Columbine. In this interview she talks about how they were looking for a dealer where they would not need to be checked, and would use as little information as possible to get the guns. It explains that even she believed that it was to easy for her, being an 18 year old high school student to get a gun. After Columbine, at the end of the legislative season, Colorado had passed six laws relating to guns. These laws include including juvenile background checks and reinstating background checks for gun purchases. This document also includes the other perspective of the gun argument, the side of the NRA, which says that gun control would not have prevented anything. Not only did the massacre at Columbine wake Americans up to the fact that school shootings are possible, it showed everyone how easy guns were to get. The source says that “this year over 800 firearm-related bills were introduced”; some of these bills included the themes of new trigger locks, background checks at gun shows. The next section of this document talks about what happened on the tragic day in April at Columbine. This document also includes a section on the gun show loophole. The last section of this document shows a list of school shootings that resulted from Columbine, and then a list of laws by state that followed.
This source is reliable because it contains a list of laws that were created as a result of Columbine. These laws are reliable, however they are biased because they favor the side of increasing gun control. These laws are biased, however the rest of the document is not because it shows both sides of the debate. This document shows both the side that gun control is not helping, and the side that it is necessary to restrict gun owners even more. This source if different from other sources because it contains a list of laws that were a result of the Columbine shooting, and it shows the string of shootings that followed Columbine.
This document can be used to argue that Columbine affected gun control, this is because there is background into the gun debate and it contains a list of laws that prove that Columbine had an impact on gun politics. These laws mostly consist of requiring background checks, and increasing the punishment of having a weapon, such as a gun, on school property. These laws were a result of Columbine because as Robyn said, if there would have been stricter gun laws, or background checks, she would not have went to buy guns for them, and if she wouldn’t have they would not have been able to get them because they would have been denied. It also can be argued that by increasing the punishment for having weapons, students would feel safer at school and would not fear that this would happen to them.
Thompson, Aaron M., and Michelle E. Alvarez. “Considerations for Integrating School Resource Officers into School Mental Health Models.” Children & Schools 35, no. 3 (July 2013): 131-35. Accessed May 21, 2015. MasterFILE Premier (90088921).
This source is about bringing resource officers into schools around the country. It begins with the 2013 president’s plan called Now is the Time, which aimed to to guard the children of the United States from the increasing rate of violence. This source talks about how the plan was not only meant to increase security, but also improve mental health services. It also includes that it aimed to make schools safer and more comfortable for the students. This plan as created because of the shootings such as Columbine. This document talks about how after this shooting, there was initiative to improve school mental health services with more psychologists, counselors, and especially resource officers. it mentions how the relationship between education and mental health has had a long history,m resource officers have only been used briefly. This source talks about how after the Columbine shooting in the late ‘90s the number of resources officers has ballooned. After this shooting schools have also have taken on zero tolerance policies against all guns and other weapons. This source includes the statistic that after the shooting the number of students to resource officers increased and the student crime rate dropped, and when more resource officers were present the violence rates dropped even further. However the source also says that there is not a direct correlation between the two, however there is a connection. This article states that there is no connection between guards and violence. The next section of this source talks about using resource officers as partners in school based services. This section talks about how the resource officers can prevent violence in the future at the school, and that integrating them into the system will extend their duties. However these officers will need to be evaluated, as the teachers and other faculty are. In the next section of this document, it talks about how these officers are law enforcement first, and they will act this way in a state of emergency. In conclusion, this source talks about the how this model of school safety will help in preventing shootings in the future.
This source is not biased, it only informs the reader about the new school safety model, that uses resource officers in the schools to prevent school violence. This information is not biased because there is no argument, also it is published in a national journal of social workers. This source is different that other sources in my bibliography because this source deals with the impact that Columbine had on school safety, and mental health services, and it is not full of background. It is a reliable source because it is not biased, and because I found it in a database, and all of the sources are cited.
This source can be used to argue the impacts that Columbine had on American society in both mental health services and improvements in school safety. In some sections of this source it talks directly about Columbine, and how both mental health services and school safety was affected. Information in this source that is directly related to my argument includes the decreased violence rates, improvements in counseling, and using resource officers as a way to prevent school violence. This document also can be used to relate to information in the radio program about the perspective that not all schools will need the same number of officers, and some might not need any officers at all.
Weil, Douglas S. “Closing Gun Control Loopholes.” National Forum 80, no. 4 (Fall 2000): 34. Accessed May 27, 2015. MasterFILE Premier (3864661).
This source is an article about the gun show loophole, and why it people are trying to get it closed. This document introduces the reader to the idea that there are two main types of gun sales, the first being federally licensed firearm dealers which are the guns sold in the retail market, and then there are the secondary dealers, such as gun shows. It shows that in the secondary market many of the restrictions are not required such as background checks, or no records involved. This source also says that closing this loophole will not make it any more difficult or lessen the chance of any law-abiding citizen being able to purchase a gun. However it will not only would deter criminals from trying to get a gun, it would also cut down on the number of criminals or people with mental disorders who obtain guns. It would also “constrict the supply of the market”. This source states that we should take background check seriously.
This source is useful because it talks about the gun control loophole, and specifically background checks. This source is not biased even though it is written by Douglas S. Wiel, who is the Director of the Research Department at the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence. It is not biased because he has done research, and is thoroughly informed about the topic, however he does not take a side. He presents the side of people for stricter gun laws. In this source he does not talk about the side of the NRA, or people against new gun laws.
This source can be used in the argument of how Columbine impacted American society because it shows the impacts that it had on gun control specifically. This source is not like other sources in my bibliography because it focuses on background checks and the gun show loophole, rather than the impacts on gun control in general or any of the other impacts. This source uses statistics like 6,082 gun buyers who went in to buy a gun, had a background check and were found to be be prohibited buyers; this implies that there were possibly 6,082 crimes that were prevented because of closing the gun control loophole. This source can also be used because it says that “when background checks are enforced, they have been shown to be effective.” Not only does this source explain why background checks need to be taken seriously, it also shows the results of taking them seriously.