Four Months After Shootings, Students Return to Columbine

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) -- About 400 parents and alumni lined a<br>sidewalk in front of Columbine High School today, clapping as<br>students headed back to class for the first time since last<br>spring's

Monday, August 16th 1999, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) -- About 400 parents and alumni lined a
sidewalk in front of Columbine High School today, clapping as
students headed back to class for the first time since last
spring's deadly rampage.

Students headed from a secured parking area to a spot near the
school, where they planned to hold a "Take Back the School
Rally," prior to going inside the renovated building.

After the rally, the U.S. flag that has been at half-staff since
the April 20 shootings was to be raised and the school's doors
opened.

"I'm ready to go back. I'm so excited," junior Jennifer
Despain, 17, said today. "Most people have already had some kind
of closure at the school. We went back a couple of times for
renovation, registration, to paint tiles. Now, we're just ready to
move on."

Theresa Redinger, a 1988 graduate who helped form the human
chain, said she just wanted to offer any help that she could.
"Mostly, I'm just here to keep people like you away. These kids
need their peace. Enough already," she said.

Among the planned security measures were armed guards for the
school's entrance, dogs sniffing the grounds for explosive devices,
and dozens of police officers patrolling the neighborhood.

Many of the nearly 2,000 students have mixed feelings about
returning to Columbine for classes for the first time since the
April 20 rampage.

Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, stormed the school with
guns and bombs, killing a dozen classmates and a teacher before
committing suicide. Twenty-three others were injured.

"I'm really excited to get our school back," said Julie
McGinley, 15, who was in the cafeteria eating lunch when the
shootings began.

"But I'm nervous, too," she said. "All summer I've been
trying to live life as normal. Being back there is going to trigger
a lot of memories."

Joshua Lapp, 16, who witnessed several of the killings, said he
dreads facing the mob of cameras and reporters.

"I'd rather just be in class," he said.

Parents and alumni planned to shield students and teachers from
the media attention by forming a human barrier along a path between
a secured parking lot and the school.

The Jefferson County school district, which is imposing tight
restrictions on the media, informed photographers and television
crews that taking pictures of injured students was prohibited.

Inside the school, bullet and shrapnel holes have been plastered
and painted over. And there's a new wall of lockers blocking the
entrance to the second-floor library where 10 people died.

"That's the creepiest part of all," said Miss Blair. "The
library is just gone."

In an effort to give the school a new feel, construction crews
renovated its interior, painting the formerly gray walls white,
green and blue and replacing carpet in the school's sprawling
corridors with white tile.

"I think (the changes) will make it easier for kids who saw
things," said Lindsey Neam, a senior. "But for others it might
make it harder, because kids just want things to be the same. They
want to get back to normal."

Security has also been tightened. Along with armed guards, the
number of surveillance cameras inside the school has been increased
by 16 and all students and staff must wear identification badges.

But the students will not have to pass through metal detectors
or let anyone check backpacks. The nearly 30 extra police scheduled
to be on hand Monday were to handle primarily traffic and crowd
control.

"We heard shortly after the tragedy and from lots of people --
students, staff, parents -- that they didn't want their school to be
turned into a fortress," said school district spokesman Rick
Kaufman.

Two mental health counselors have joined the regular staff of
six counselors, in case the return is emotionally jarring for any
student or teacher. There is also a safe room in the school for
anyone who needs special attention during the first week of class.

On Sunday, 19 churches in Littleton held simultaneous
back-to-school services to lift lingering clouds of grief and fear.

Bart Campolo, whose Kingdomworks does inner-city mission work in
Philadelphia, was one of the main speakers at the Abiding Hope
Lutheran Church.

"You'd better believe that good overcomes evil or I don't know
how you can go back to school," he said.

(Copyright 1999 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)