Hello Gauchos!

Welcome back to my soap box for the third time now. Let’s get straight into it.

It’s been quite a year here at Casa Grande so far. We’ve seen a varsity football season full of action and suspense like no other. We’ve seen the formation of new groups and clubs. We’ve seen the school year starting off normally for the first time since 2019.

COVID, amongst other things, are quickly disappearing behind us. There have been a lot of good things this year. Quite a lot. I wish I could say it was all good things. I wish that I could tell you that evil and despair never existed.

But that would be a lie.

One of the more unfortunate and tragic events we have encountered as of recent is a rise in threats of bombs and acts of violence here on the Casa Grande campus.

3 weeks ago, on Oct. 7, 2022, CGHS administration received a bomb threat which originated from Snapchat. The Petaluma Police Department was notified of the threat, and within the hour, multiple officers arrived to conduct a thorough search of the campus. 

Many students stayed home. Some attended with skepticism. Classrooms were emptier than usual. The rally was canceled for the day. 5 PPD officers patrolled the campus during break and lunch. Students were checking their surroundings, and looking over their shoulder with a greater level of scrutiny than usual.

Like many other people, it pains me to see events such as these occurring. Even in the end where no one is hurt and the threat turns out to be false, it is truly criminal to see how even the mere threat of an atrocity occurring is grounds for a full response as if it were an active scenario.

As a society, we are on edge. Constantly. There always seems to be some threat lurking around the corner, or hiding in a dark alleyway, just waiting to pounce on its next set of victims. But by the time we shine our bright lights of strength on the area from whence the darkness came, that threat is nowhere to be found. We’re often just that little bit too late.

And then the volley of gunfire rings out in the distance.

At times, it may seem like there is nothing we can do to stop it. That all hope is lost, and that humanity is plunging itself into an endless loop of violence against its own kind. But if this is the way you see things, I implore you to take a closer look at these events.

Because no matter how many lives were lost, no matter how many people were caught in the crossfire, no matter how many hearts and minds had been changed for the worse, people were there for each other. From the very moment these calls of violence came in, people banded together for comfort; for warmth and strength. People from all walks of life, all backgrounds.

Ordinary people. Extraordinary people. The rich. The poor. The lucky. The unlucky. The emotionally perturbed. The intensely vigilant. You’ll see before you police officers, firefighters, paramedics, cooks, waiters, cashiers, students, journalists, bankers, mayors, clerks, librarians, pilots, factory workers, and many others. Everyone means everyone.

Tragedy, in the eyes of a pessimist, brings out the worst in humanity — it exposes our flaws, our weaknesses, our deepest darkest thoughts. Our innermost desires are put on display for the entire generation to see. And to an extent, that’s right. But only a pessimist would tell you that this is the only constant in society.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, tragedy, in the eyes of an optimist, brings out the best in humanity — despite there being terror in the eyes of plenty and fear upon the faces of violently perturbed souls, an optimist will see that these people come together as one succinct unit.

Thusly, I urge you all to be the optimist. Be the one that shines light upon the darkest of rooms and shadow of atrocity. Because as a wise man from a magical world once said, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

And above all else, Gauchos, allow me to repeat the same precept I have said and will continue to say until I am asked of service no more:

We’re all in this together.

If you ever have any questions, comments or concerns about a particular article, or you have a suggestion for one, please don’t hesitate to leave us a comment, write us a letter or send us an email.

Thanks for stopping by.

Seize the Day,

Owen Davis

Head of Online Publications, 2022-2023