The Line
“The school needs to make sure to consider the idea of how the line will work in this new building. Do we even need to be scanned? If we are scanned, will it be useful or useless?”
Think back to last winter, 2022. Some students would be standing underneath the cold 30° scaffolding patiently waiting for the doors to open. Seeing the other school slowly enter while their line gets longer and more crowded. People wouldn't go to the back of the line owing to the fact that if they do, they will be late even if they were here before the doors open. Some students would be on the line from 7:30, for they can have a higher chance to get in early and on time. No luck though, as the doors open exactly an hour later at 8:30, 30 minutes before advisory. Those 30 minutes does not give the 300 students enough time to get in the building on time before advisory. Even if the line was perfect and everyone went through scanning with no issues, many students still wouldn’t be on time. Meanwhile teachers and staff go through the main entrance, without having to stop along with getting checked, and head straight upstairs. All of these issues made the line terrible and a big problem last school year. Now things have changed.
During this timeline, students who were at school at 8:30 would walk in, with their phones in their pouch, unless they didn’t have one, and would put their phones in a metal box, and walk toward the metal detector. Two school security guards are waiting for them. One would be checking bags while the other would be making sure the students didn’t ring red. Most of the time there would be something that would happen. The security saw something in students' bags that they didn’t like or students would ring so they would have to turn around and try again which caused delays for a lot of students. After that we would have to wait in the auditorium until we were dismissed for advisory, 10 minutes before 9. Most of the time, some students would be in the auditorium, while the others are still outside waiting to get in. This was before seniors and the rest of the grades mixed. Last year the senior class was in a different building with no metal detectors, until a very terrible issue occurred that thankfully didn’t do any major damage to students.
This year with all 4 grades mixed, the school knew they had to fix the line. This fall, the line has improved tremendously. The doors now open around 8:20 and there isn’t even a line half of the time. Students receive an on time pass from Ms. Alder so that teachers upstairs are notified that they aren’t late. Students are required to put their phone in their pouch before they enter the building which makes the process rapid. Passing through the metal detectors has improved tremendously. The line moves quicker and more efficiently. Students still head to the auditorium if they are there before 8:40, beginning of first period. Less students are late because of the on time pass, meaning if they are late upstairs, they are on time downstairs, which is an amazing upgrade. From there they proceed to the first period and start their day.
Like I mentioned before, staff members from the schools enter through the main entrance, away from the students. Ms. Elle is the school's health teacher. She informed me that it is totally unfair that any adult can walk in without having to go through scanning. She used to enter the school coming from the senior site without having to walk through the metal detector. She mentioned that not every school has metal detectors. Her daughter attends LaGuardia High School for Music and Art downtown, a high school with over 4,000 students containing no metal detectors. The school across from their school has metal detectors. Ms. Elle had asked her daughter about the reason why, and she replied in her own opinion saying how they have such a big music program and so many instruments that it would be very difficult to run the machines with so many kids bringing instruments into the school. There's different reasons to why a school should or should not have metal detectors. Which brings an interesting idea. Should the new Comp Sci High building have metal detectors?
The school needs to make sure to consider the idea of how the line will work in this new building. Do we even need to be scanned? If we are scanned, will it be useful or useless? Can it be more advanced? The school needs to address a number of questions about the line. The metal detectors are not going to be required for the new building, so will they use this to their advantage? It will be the school’s choice to add them or not. Students could be free to just open the doors, walk in and head to class. Or instead students might have to use the detectors and still keep the line.
I’ve interviewed two 12th graders who wanted to remain anonymous. I asked them if the new school building needs metal detectors. One of them told me yes. They have stated: “The old senior building didn't have metal detectors due to the amount of trust the staff had in the community they have built,” but that changed after an incident. They also stated, "Future grades will be affected by the decisions made from previous grades." The other student told me that the new schools should not have metal detectors. They said “The metal detectors take time out of people’s mornings.” They continued by saying “If the teachers don’t use metal detectors, why should the students.” The school needs to try and fix both of these students' concerns.
The line has drastically improved since the last few years. Students could agree or disagree, but the school has made efforts to make their community better and safer. Do you believe the line could be better? Or do you think it’s enough?