In light of the recent attacks by the terrorist group ISIS on civilians in Paris, students from LHS who took part in the 2015 French Exchange Program have connected with their students and given their reactions to the tragedies.

On Friday, Nov. 13, ISIS attacked innocent civilians in multiple locations around Paris. In the U.S., many comparisons have been made to the tragedies faced on during the 9/11 attacks of 2001.

LHS students who took part in the French Exchange Program were shocked and frightened by the news.

“I cried…My first thought was immediately, ‘Oh my gosh, are they okay?’” said senior Kelsey Kraft. “I talked to [my student’s] older sister, and she said their whole family was fine. But, obviously, they’re all devastated and upset at what happened.”

Junior Stephen Richardson said he found the same sorts of reactions when he spoke to his friends in France.

“They were really horrified, really saddened,” he said.

Junior Annie Barnett agreed. “It was just so emotional,” she said.

All of the students at LHS immediately reached out to their friends, checking to make sure they were not harmed and finding out what happened.

Senior Nellie Richardson explained how concerned she was when she heard Friday night.

“[The students] live in Angers. It’s two hours [from Paris]. So they’re a decent distance away, but still, their parents work in Paris, some of them. So they all have ties to the city… They all said they were okay, which I was very relieved about. But honestly, right away, it’s just very frightening, because all of them have ties to Paris; they go there a lot.”

Reflecting back on their time in Paris this summer, these LHS students recalled the levels of security they observed when touring Paris.

Nellie Richardson remembered the presence of military personnel vividly.

“Everywhere we went, especially in Paris, there were military people everywhere. At Versailles, they were ready — there were just there to protect you at all times. It was kind of freaky, kind of concerning, because it was right after the first event [Charlie Hebdo shooting of January 7, 2015].”

Kraft recalled the military presence as well. “Armed guards. Everywhere. Armed with automatic weapons,” she recollected.

Stephen Richardson added: “Walking around everywhere. The Louvre, and a lot of the popular tourist places. Places with lots of people.”

Kraft continued: “It just caught me off guard. If you go to Chicago, you don’t expect people with assault rifles to be standing around the Bean or in Millennium Park. It was just weird to see, I guess. I felt a little bit more safe. But I guess that’s why the attacks were so freaky. Because they didn’t go to tourist places. They attacked local places,” she explained.

Commenting on the proximity of Angers to Paris, Stephen Richardson pointed out the level of fear that his friends experienced.

“It’s definitely right in their backyard, so it’s pretty terrifying. It’s not like they’re in the south of France in some village and really separated from it or anything. It’s right there. So it’s pretty real.”

Kraft added: “I know for my family… it’s a big deal for them to go there. So I think the fact that that’s like their city — you know, they take so much pride in it — that it was just kind of hurtful and just bad.

“I think it was mostly just sadness. Disbelief. I think the attacks in January were a big enough surprise to them, and that was awful, but it was on a much smaller scale and it was very clearly targeted at someone for a reason. But this seemed much more random… I know my [student’s] twin sister was like, it’s really sad and terrible, but what are we to do this to other people. Kind of, what has it come to that people are doing this. Kind of like, what is our society now, that this is happening,” said Kraft.