from POWER POINT, winner of the 2025 National Press Women Communications Prize
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EXCLAMATION POINT. Warning / Surprise — the exclamation point is meant for conveying strong emotions, HARK! It is overused by the millennials' emphatic insistence to emoji Everything! by the Gen-Z'ers, who 'really mean it!' are over-sensitive, triggered constantly in-active shooter drills, told to: 1. RUN 2. HIDE 3. FIGHT. Pay attention, Jan! Dan! Eddie! Mia! this could save your life. This is all we've got, all that stands between you and the end of the sentence. RUN! (for office)
The poem traces the exclamation point from emoji overuse to active shooter drill instructions. These are the numbers behind America's school shooting epidemic.
This poem also has a fully animated, interactive version →
Data year: 2018–2023
| Year | Incidents at K-12 schools | |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 94 | |
| 2019 | 45 | |
| 2020 — COVID — schools largely closed | 23 | |
| 2021 | 136 | |
| 2022 | 188 | |
| 2023 | 348 |
Source: Everytown for Gun Safety, "Gunfire on School Grounds," 2024. Includes any instance of a gun being fired on K-12 school grounds, whether or not classes were in session.
Everytown's definition is broader than FBI's — it includes all gunfire on school grounds, intentional and unintentional.
Data year: 2019–2023
| Statistic | Figure | |
|---|---|---|
| Public schools conducting lockdown drills | 95% | |
| Students who felt scared/upset after a drill | 42% | |
| Students who had trouble sleeping after a drill | 22% | |
| Teachers who felt drills increased student anxiety | 60% |
Source: NCES, "School Survey on Crime and Safety," 2019–20; Everytown, "Dangerous Drills," 2023.
The US is the only country in the world where active shooter drills in elementary schools are standard practice.
Data year: 2009–2023
| Country | School mass shootings (4+ killed) | |
|---|---|---|
| UK | 0 | |
| Australia | 0 | |
| Germany | 1 | |
| Canada | 2 | |
| France | 2 | |
| United States | ~288 |
Source: Adam Lankford, "Public Mass Shooters and Firearms: A Cross-National Study of 171 Countries," Violence and Victims, 2016; Everytown database. Definition: 4+ killed, not including perpetrator.
Since 2000, more than 74 million US children have participated in at least one active shooter drill (Everytown, 2022).
About This Poem
'Exclamation Point' skewers inadequate approaches to school safety, questioning generational divides and what effective protection looks like. The warning sign shape and erratic font (reminiscent of a ransom note) suggest the feeling of being held hostage, literally and figuratively, in a state of escalating and constant alarm.