Columbine Students Speak at Chaffey By Christy Roberts, Feature Editor On Tuesday, October 26, three Columbine High School students who were involved in last year's tragedy and a family member of one of the deceased visited Chaffey's student council and presented a moving speech with the power to change attitudes, if not lives. Chaffey welcomed the students with balloons in their school colors, clapping hands, and warm hugs.

Their message was simple: Please don't let this kind of tragedy happen again. In the intimacy of a classroom, the Columbine students began by sharing their individual experiences, explaining where they each were at the time of the assault and their immediate responses.

Columbine survivor, Elisha Encinias, relives the  horrible ordeal for the benefit of Chaffey's Student Council.

Richard Hoover, a junior, was in the weight room when the shooting began at 11:20 a.m.. A fire bell had gone off, and some students were walking, some running, as the initial bombs going off were mistaken for construction site noises. All these students were taken to the library to wait.

Courtney Herivel (01) was in her biology class getting ready to take a test when people began running down the halls screaming. Her class was told to get under their desks immediately; shortly following, the thirty students in the class hurried into a large closet while the gunfire in the halls outside echoed and bombs shook the floors on which they cowered. She recalls hearing the gunmen walk up and down the halls, stating eerily, "You better hope we don't find you, cuz' if we do, we'll kill you all."

Elisha Encinias (01) was at lunch in the cafeteria when a girl entered and in a nearcatatonic state, calmly said, "Someone's shooting people outside." Some heard her, some didn't, but all ducked under the tables, thinking the bombs were the result of a Kosova attack. Suddenly, students began running up two flights of stairs, each leading in a different direction. Elisha and a teacher named Dave Sanders, ran to the right due to the congestion on the left. These stairs led to the hall in which the gunmen were then in. While running, the teacher behind her was shot, preventing Elisha from being critically injured.

Bullets continued to fly past her until she finally found sanctuary in the closet in which Courtney's class was hiding. That teacher was the only teacher to die that day, sacrificing his own life to save a student's.

After the gunmen had ended their spree by taking their own lives, the SWAT team finally released the two hiding classes that remained in the building, but the students were not informed of what they would see upon exiting. As they ran to safety, they had to step over the bodies of their fellow classmates, one of whom was Elisha's best friend.

The purpose of the Columbine survivors' visit was to inform students as to why they think this tragedy occurred in the hope of making sure it never happens again. In a letter, the killers had written that they had been constantly teased by certain cliques, showing just how badly words can hurt. Elisha commented, "It's easy to criticize, easier than making friends," which is true. It's easier to put others down in an attempt to elevate yourself than it is to realize we're all on the same level.

Richard expressed it best when he said, "Because of what we saw and where we've been, when we talk, people listen. We want to express our thanks for all the thoughts and prayers we received. And we want to make it known that we need more love, more peace and less tension."

On November 19, a charity walk will be held, starting at Ontario High School, to help raise money for the construction of a new library at Columbine High, so the students never have to step foot in a place of such horrible memories again. See an ASB member or the Student Store to sign up to help.