On Friday, February 16th, 2018, students at Fairview were just beginning their first period classes when a voice came over the loudspeaker and announced a lockdown — meaning a threat had or would soon enter the building, and students needed to hide in dark classrooms.

When the lockdown was eventually lifted after half an hour of near silence, the day continued, though students missed their second period classes. As many students would later learn, a worried resident of the Fairview area caused the incident by calling the police after seeing a student walk past with what looked like a rifle in a white case. 

The item in question was not a rifle, but rather a Color Guard rifle prop — a rifle-shaped but inoperable piece of wood wrapped in white, and used in routines. Usually they are carried in cases, but on this occasion the case was full of flags, another element of Color Guard.

A little-known consequence of the event was that the Color Guard’s reputation among Fairview was, for a while, tied to this one incident, and not their actual activities. Though their name was somewhat tarnished, the activity still has many participants.

“I think a lot of people have a lot of misconceptions about it […] really all people know about it is that it caused a lockdown, and I think a lot of people would really enjoy the activity,” Lydia Soto Rodriguez, a junior and a member of the Color Guard, said.

Alex Mondragon is the Assistant Band Director and helps direct the Color Guard at Fairview, though he was not present for the incident. 

“I don’t think [the lockdown] hurt us. I don’t think it caused anybody to lose interest in Color. I don’t think it scared anybody away from Color Guard. I mean, if anything it’s just a bummer, the time that we live in; that people have to be on edge and afraid of that kind of thing,” he said.

Mondragon also commented on the Guard’s prospects for this year and the coming years.

“I think it’s going to be a strong year […] I think that we are setting ourselves up for success,” Mondragon said, “both this year and in the future by building fundamental skills and creating a core group of people who really are committed to what we do and are really interested in continuing to better themselves.”