Once a Colt, always a Colt: The story of Shannon Allen as a former student at El Camino

By Catherine Tadina

Allen as a student.

While El Camino in the 1990s was physically very similar to that of the present, the surrounding areas were quite different; El Camino in the ‘90s had a rural atmosphere. “It was kind of like the Wild West,” English teacher Shannon Allen said. In order to go to school every morning, Allen remembers having to walk through a “scary path” across what is now the track field. The areas surrounding El Camino were grass fields: there was no South San Francisco BART, Starbucks, or Costco. The area where the nearest Trader Joe’s is currently located was once full of trees. “It was shady,” Allen said. “There was not a lot of adult supervision in the surroundings back then.”

The issue of building South San Francisco BART in 1997 was a source of contention among students. While South San Francisco BART was being built, many El Camino students protested, arguing the safety of making El Camino too accessible.

The Columbine School Massacre on April 20, 1999 had a profound effect on El Camino students. Allen recalls hearing the news in English teacher Thomas Crockett’s senior AP English class.

Allen at present.

“Everyone was in shock,” Allen said. “While there were school shootings before, they were fairly small; this was the first time a big scale school shooting—a mass murder—had occurred.” People all over the country blamed rock music as the driving force behind the Columbine high school shooters. Since Allen listened to rock music, there was some scrutiny put on students like Allen and her friends. To dispel suspicions, Allen organized a peace march, wherein about 30-40 students, as well as Crockett, walked to the South San Francisco City Hall. There, they passed candles and discussed what it meant to be peaceful.

Gangs were also more prominent at the time. While the gangs never bothered Allen, she had a Latino friend who was assaulted by a rival gang. “You really had to watch yourself back then,” Allen said.