At 9:50 a.m. on Wednesday, Woodside was placed in Secure Campus. The Secure Campus occurred due to an anonymous report of a potential threat. As a result, the administration contacted local law enforcement and enacted the Secure Campus protocol.
Principal Karen van Putten released a statement to The Almanac.
“Law enforcement directed the school to be placed in Secure Campus,” van Putten said. “Law enforcement conducted a thorough sweep of campus and determined that the threat was not credible.”
Secure Campus is placed when there is a threat of potential danger. Teachers may continue their lessons, but are to lock their doors. Students and staff are also to remain inside. Van Putten announced on the intercom for teachers to check their email, which notified teachers of the Secure Campus.
“Immediately, [it] kind of confused everyone,” senior Sophia Valencia said. “It felt kind of ominous. Like, what is this intercom? Then [my teacher] … started closing all the doors, and he … assured us that everything was okay, but just that we’re gonna be cautious and not go to the bathroom.”
After teachers closed their classroom doors, they didn’t reveal to students that there was a Secure Campus. Junior Avery Hartman described what happened in her AP Spanish class.
“People didn’t know what was happening at first, so we were just looking around,” Hartman said. “We were listening outside to … see if we heard anything. There [was] a little bit of concern. But since there were no…details [about] what was happening, people weren’t freaking out.”
Van Putten announced that the Secure Campus was lifted at 10:15 am. However, the San Mateo Sheriff’s Office had a presence on campus for the remainder of the school day.
Some students felt conflicted about the choice to announce on the intercom for teachers to check their email.
“I felt that Miss [van Putten’s] choice to put out an ominous message on the intercom was maybe not the best idea to ensure morale,” Valencia said. “It could have been handled a lot better. Maybe [instead] do … a phone call… [or] something a little bit more low key to reflect the situation.”
Hartman, on the other hand, felt that van Putten handled the situation well.
“I think it was a good way to make the students automatically not have fear, and it was a good way to inform the teachers of steps to take,” Hartman said.
