Life After Death

By David Hill

Kevin Tucker is an early riser, but on Monday, August 16, the first day of classes for the new school year at Columbine High School, he got out of bed at 4 a.m., an hour earlier than usual. "I actually slept pretty well that night," says the 43-year-old teacher, who began working at the now-infamous school two years ago. Still, as he got dressed, Tucker began to feel anxious, a mixture, he says, of "anticipation and fear." On his way to school, he drove past the encampment of TV-satellite trucks parked in a corner of Clement Park, just down the street from the school. A "Take Back the School" rally for students, parents, and faculty was scheduled for 7:30. But for now, Tucker just wanted to spend some time inside his classroom getting ready for his students. "I wanted the room to look really nice," he says.

At the rally, held under a brilliant blue sky in the very parking lot from which students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold began their deadly assault on April 20, principal Frank DeAngelis shouted, "I have waited for months to say this, and I say this with great pride: Columbine, we are back!"

Tucker, dressed like nearly everyone else in a "We Are Columbine" T-shirt, stood near the back of the crowd with some of his colleagues, listening intently. The tone of the rally was festive, upbeat, with screaming cheerleaders and loud, prerecorded rock music. DeAngelis briefly alluded to the shooting spree, which claimed the lives of 14 students and one teacher, saying, "It is essential that you have respect for your fellow students who may have different opinions or ideas. At Columbine High School, we will have zero tolerance for cruelty, harassment, excessive teasing, discrimination, violence, and intimidation." But there was no mention of the victims, not even a moment of silence...