It is well-known that Elkhorn North is a service deadzone. Connecting to the Wifi in certain parts of the school is a miracle, and in the basement it’s virtually unheard of. Students, family, and journalists who attend sporting events in the Elkhorn North gymnasium are constantly faced with the “SOS” symbol where the three bars of service should be. While some may see this as a petty complaint from teenagers who are “addicted to their phones”, the gravity of this situation hit me during the tornado that destroyed parts of Elkhorn only a couple miles from Elkhorn North.

As students were ushered down to the locker rooms on April 26th, a universal sigh was let out when everyone lost service. Crammed on the floor of the locker room, students and teachers wondered what was happening outside. A couple students were able to pull up the news radar on their computers and give minor details on the path of the tornado. Tensions began to rise as students realized how close and severe the tornado actually was. Then a couple people started telling me “I think it’s headed for your neighborhood.”

In this moment, my only thought was of my mom who was home alone. I began frantically texting her ,but, unsurprisingly, the texts did not go through because of the lack of service in the basement. 

Thankfully my mom and house are okay, but for over an hour, I truly did not know. Many other students experienced the same anxiety being unable to reach loved ones. 

Senior Koral Jarzynka had a friend house-sitting for her family during the tornado. Her family’s storm shelter has a code on it and she was not able to reach her friend to let her know the code. Jarzynka had to scramble around to find someone’s phone that was working as the tornado neared her neighborhood.

“I was really worried and couldn’t get through to her for a while,” Jaryzynka said. “I just kept sending texts over and over again, but it just wasn’t working.”

Being in the locker rooms, disconnected from my family and the outside world made me realize the severity of not having cell service inside the school. 

Since elementary school, I have been put through drills, given difficult talks, and watched many videos in order to prepare for the threat of an intruder. One particular video I remember is from a crisis response program, The “I Love U Guys” Foundation. This specific video resonated with me because it is named after the text that an unfortunate set of parents received from their daughter before she was killed in a school shooting. During lock down drills, teachers often bring up that in the event of an intruder, students should silence their phones and  text their parents that they are okay. The thought of not being able to send this text because I could be locked in a part of the school without service is heart-breaking.

Put yourself in the position of a parent during an emergency while your child is at school. Many parents faced this during Friday’s tornado. For over an hour, parents couldn’t reach their children with a tornado only miles away from their school. The job of a parent is to keep their child safe. At school, when their safety is out of the parents’ hands, they should at least know that their kids are okay.

The cell service issue at Elkhorn North shouldn’t be brushed aside any longer or until it’s too late.

 “Getting information out during scary or dangerous situations is really important,” Jarzynka said. “You have to be able to know if people are safe.”