Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

INUVIK (May 24/99) - There are no guarantees when it comes to school violence, said Inuvik's Samuel Hearne High School Principal Bernie MacLean.

"We can't fool ourselves into thinking we can guarantee complete safety. We can teach staff how to diffuse violent situations, but we can't guarantee something violent won't happen," MacLean said.

"That's not to say we won't continue to be vigilant. If you were to visit our schools I don't think you'd find them violent places, but that's not to say we're not concerned."

Samuel Hearne School has 300 junior and senior high school students. MacLean said one of the causes of recent increases in violence may be, in part, due to the media's coverage of recent school shootings in Littleton, Colorado and Taber, Alta.

"Certainly, violence in schools is a concern right across the country and North America. The more incidents that occur and are publicized in the media, the more students talk about them and that can perpetuate additional incidents," MacLean said.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't be talking about it. We can't not talk about it, but the discussions have to take a constructive form. It's unfair when students and teachers have to go about their daily lives with concerns about violence in schools."

Grise Fiord's Umimmak School has a high school enrolment of 11 students. The intimate size of the class allows Principal Odette Barr the opportunity to discuss a whole range of issues in an intimate setting.

"When there was all the publicity surrounding the Littleton, Colorado shootings, I asked the students if they could see something like that happening here," Barr said.

"They thought about it for awhile and answered yes. They said it could happen here."

Barr said the response didn't surprise her and that it points to a larger issue.

"There are many young people in communities who don't have an outlet for their anger," Barr said.

"We have a lot of teenagers and not a lot of facilities for them to burn off energy. I think we're very lucky things like that don't happen more."

Like most Northern community schools, hunting is part of school life -- and that means students have access to guns. This week, Barr has arranged for the local RCMP detachment to hold a gun safety course with the students.

"Most Northern schools have spring camps that include hunting. Being a traditional activity, we try to do it as often as possible," Barr said.

"The kids here in the Aboriginal communities have an innate sense of maturity and responsibility when it comes to guns. To them, a gun is just a hunting tool. Having said that, we do have to be aware because these are changing times."

Barr said she deals with few discipline problems in her school, but it "doesn't mean we won't have them.

"We're hoping a lot of communities also choose to hold similar gun safety courses."