There’s a reason that everyone in America knows what “Columbine” means. Dozens of schools had experienced gun violence in their halls prior to 1999 and hundreds have since, but most of them are little thought of, save by those directly affected by them. There is a stark difference between the country prior to Columbine and following it, making its rules, laws, and regulations regarding school violence almost unrecognizable while also creating a culture of fear in which parents were afraid of sending their children to school. It wasn’t simply the unprecedented massive number of students and teachers who were killed, although that was a leading factor. It was a combination of the media coverage, both as the event unfolded and following it, the immediate emergence of copycats that wished to recreate Columbine, the televised lack of immediate response from police officers and the SWAT team, how seemingly “normal” the two perpetrators were, and the emergence of new preventatives laws passed immediately following it turned the Columbine Massacre into the “ideal” example of a school shooting that it has been for over twenty years.