Principal Andy Ishibashi has talked to contractors about the possibility of installing security gates around campus parking lots and other areas that have inadequate or broken fences.
    Concerns about security result in part from an incident in which a group of students were robbed at gunpoint in a back alley near school. Around 1 p.m. on Dec. 7, two men threatened five students with shotguns in an alleyway between 25th and 26th Avenues on Ocean Avenue. Although the students were physically unharmed, the culprits escaped after the incident.
    Ishibashi said that Lowell is an open campus, which makes it difficult to ensure safety off campus. “We don’t have the manpower to cover those areas,” he said. Ishibashi suggested that students traveling off campus move in two groups, one group in front and the other following behind in viewing distance. “That way (robbers) won’t catch you all together,” he said. “If one group gets in trouble, the others can call for help.”
    Dean Ray Cordoba advised students who get involved in life-threatening situations to give their attackers what they ask for. “It’s not worth getting killed, so give them what you have,” he said. He stressed the importance of a three-step process for reporting crimes to authorities. First, the student should report the incident to the police. “Notify the police right away and that means immediately after it happens,” he said. “The police may catch the robbers if they are still in the vicinity.” He explained that the longer a person waits to report a crime, the more time criminals have to escape and possibly do more harm elsewhere. Second, the student should report the incident to school authorities, such as the dean or principal, who would facilitate a more alert environment to protect students. “As part of security measures, we will have supervisors patrol in those areas and heighten awareness,” Cordoba said. Third, he advises that students should inform their parents.
    According to Cordoba, a good defense is awareness of one’s surroundings. “Watch where you walk, who you walk near and know where you’re going,” Cordoba said, adding than traveling on the main streets is safer than taking short cuts through alleyways.