Twenty years after the Loma Prieta Earthquake, more than 6.9 million Californians on October 15 took part in an earthquake drill called the Great Shakeout. Many schools participated in the great shakeout to take part to improve our preparation for earthquakes.

San Benito High School students had to hide under their desks and cover their heads until they could go outside and wait for the all-clear signal.

“It is important to practice drills so that students and staff can learn what is expected of them in the event of a disaster,” said Antonio Vela, a SBHS vice principal, and the man in charge of these drills. “Students and staff safety is the number one priority on campus and when we run drills we give ourselves the opportunity to improve our procedures.”

The common question among fellow San Benito students is “Why do we practice these drills so much?”

“I believe practicing these drills does keep students safe,” said Vela. “In the event of a real disaster it will be very easy to fall into a state of panic. By practicing these drills we are giving everyone confidence that they will be able to play an important part in maintaining their safety. If we didn’t have these drills then people wouldn’t know what to do in the event of a real earthquake. People might react in a way that would place them in danger.”

 “I don’t think we took the drill very seriously at all,” said student at SBHS, Lauren Kelly. “Our teacher didn’t do anything; we just got outside and didn’t even go under our desks. We just stood there.”

“We only do the drill once or twice and it’s not talked about anymore,” said Kelly. “The teacher tells you what to do, you can’t remember yourself. As a participant in the drill, I witnessed a high level of engagement from the students and staff. The evacuation portion of the drill was especially impressive. It is clear that students value safety. I was located in the quad area and saw students take the protocol seriously.”

Freshman Taylor Lawrence said “In my experience of the drill, it was long and I learned what to do if there was an earthquake drill. We only did it because the district people told them to have the earthquake drill; we needed to prepare for the real thing”