Facing hard choices
By Steve Herring
Published in News on February 26, 2018 5:50 AM
MOUNT OLIVE -- Katie Whitley would rather stand on the front line and protect her classmates than hide and potentially survive a mass shooting.
She is 13.
Her choice, startling for her mother, Marcia Whitley, is also a reflection of the time in which she is growing up -- a time when a child may have to make such a harrowing decision.
Katie was inspired by a young boy who explained to his mother about how they had been given instructions on lockdown procedures at his school.
He detailed how they lock the door, push a table against it and that he is one of the ones who pushes the table.
Then they all stand in the back of the room -- all except for him and three others who choose stand in front of everyone else.
"So obviously the mother was concerned by that," said Marcia. "The boy said he volunteered because -- if something were to happen -- that he would rather die protecting his friends than stand in the back and be the only one left alive."
Whitley said her daughter has done similar drills since second grade.
Katie sent the article about the boy to her mother after they had talked about the Feb. 14 shooting deaths of 17 people, including students, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
"Then she sends me a text and tells me she has made a decision -- that she had rather die protecting others than hiding," Whitley said. "My 13-year-old. That's where her mind is.
"First of all, I told her how sorry I am that she has to even think about things like that," Whitley said. "I told her how I knew that she would anyway because that is who she is and reminded her how much I love her. It's so sad that our children are faced with these fears."
Whitley was moved by the passion and concerns of the shooting survivors, who are working to organize a "March for Our Lives" on March 24.
She was so moved that she decided that local students should be able to give voice as to what happened and concerns about their own schools.
Whitley, founder of the nonprofit All the King's Children, was among those who attended a Thursday prayer breakfast hosted by Mayor Joe Scott at the town's train depot.
She asked Scott, area ministers and others there if the march is something that the town needs to participate in, not so much as a debate or decision on gun control, but as an opportunity for students to express their concerns.
Whitley is hoping that the community will support such a march to show its support for its children.
Planning is in the preliminary stages, and during the meeting Chief of Police Tommy Brown suggested shutting down Center Street between College and Pollock streets for the march that would end at the old train depot.
The depot would be opened up for dialogue and refreshments, Brown said.
"I don't know if there is any interest as far as the students are concerned," Whitley said.
But they are talking about it, said Marti Hatch, pastor at Mount Olive First United Methodist Church.
On the day the shooting happened, a child was suspended from a Wayne County high school for making a threat, Hatch said.
He was supposed to come back the following Monday, so starting the preceding Friday the rumors started flying -- he was going to follow through, she said.
"It was all rumor, but it was all over social media," Hatch said. "It went to other schools."
Something similar happened in Greenville, Brown said.
The march could provide an opportunity for police to stand up and say this is what students need to do and not do, she said.
For example, don't put it on social media, rather call law enforcement or the school, she said.
Whitley said she does not want the event to be overshadowed by the gun control debate, even though she thinks that is the main focus for the Parkland students.
It is certainly a concern of a lot of people, she said.
"I don't think our students need a debate on gun control," Whitley said. "That is obviously something that we are not going to solve in our community necessarily.
"But I do think it would be an excellent opportunity for us to be there for them, for their voices to be heard, for their concerns to be raised, for them to be told what kind of services are available, what our officers are doing to secure their premises, for counselors to talk to them about what's available, that our churches are here to support them."
Whitley said she just wants to make sure that local students have their voices heard and to talk about their concerns in schools.
It is important for the town to make sure the students understand that the town supports them, she said.
Students need to be told what resources are available to deal with issues such as bullying, she said.
Whitley said she did not want to start the project alone and feels it should be a community effort so that it would not get out of hand.
Leadership needs to be involved since they might decide to have a march anyway, she said.
"It would also be an environment where the students would get what they need out of the event rather than just being a debate and possible debacle," she said.
"This is a huge concern, obviously, across the nation, but here in town, I mean if our kids are thinking about this and are scared every time they see somebody they don't know."
Whitley said if she parks next to a van that her daughter wants to get out of the vehicle on her side.
"Our children are living in a completely different world than what we grew up in," Whitley said.
"A march would be good not just for the kids, but for the parents," Assistant Chief of Police Linda Tyson said.
It also would show just how many people are concerned, Whitley said.
"I think that our students deserve to be heard," she said. "I also believe that they need to know that their community is working to ensure their safety. They need to be reminded about 'See Something. Say Something,' about issues like bullying and about the resources currently available to them in their schools and churches.
"School safety is not a political issue. There cannot be two sides to doing everything in our power to ensure the lives and futures of children who are at risk of dying when they should be learning, playing and growing."