Profile: Stan Caples

Stay Calm

A School Security Guard’s Perspective on Gun Violence

By Janie Phillips

There have been twenty-two school shootings in the US this year. The fact that these events happened in hallways and classrooms quite similar to those Lincoln students pass through every day is a frightening realization. For Stan Caples, one of Lincoln’s campus security guards, it’s one he never would have expected at the start of his career.

“In the past it just wasn't something that people would think to do,” Caples explains, referring to gun violence in schools.

Caples started working at Lincoln seventeen years ago after working in security in the military and at various institutions around Portland. In his seventeen years of working in a high school, he says the students have changed drastically.

“I think because of social media and all the things kids can do on the internet, kids aren't as outgoing as they used to be,” says Caples. Unfortunately, he sees these behavior shifts posing an issue for school security. “They [students] aren’t as aware of their surroundings,” he explains.

For Caples however, this kind of awareness is second nature.

“Me coming from the military, I’m already geared up for it,” he says. “It doesn't rattle me.” For Caples personally, the threat of a gunman isn’t scary. However, he understands that for most people at Lincoln, it’s traumatic to think about.

“It’s as safe as the climate is,” says Caples about Lincoln’s safety for students. Fortunately, the school has safety measures in place to prevent shootings and other violence, such as the single unlocked entrance to the building during the school day to prevent unauthorized guests, or the no earbuds policy in the halls so that students can notice and respond to threats more easily.

Caples has advice for students who may find themselves in a situation where they are being threatened. He urges them to “remain calm, so that [they] can keep that person calm as well.”

Caples says he and his partner Frank Acosta work every day to ensure that no student or faculty member at Lincoln is put in that position, however they need the help of the community.

“Always be aware of your surroundings,” Caples says. “If you recognize someone that you don’t see on a regular basis, you need to let someone know.”