AHS ID policy values safety, annoys students

by Brandis S.

As summer ends and our new school year has started , Airport High has become very strict on the school’s ID policy. Yes, they have always asked us to wear them, but this year is particularly different. We’re to the point where if a hall monitor even sees us without an ID, they’ll chase us down the hallway until we put it on. They also have gone to the extreme measure of suspending students after a certain amount of times not wearing/having your ID on your person. I understand the fact that it is a policy but all of the above seems unnecessary. Some students, including Geraldine D. jokingly said, “I hate that we have to wear this. I feel like a dog.” Several more serious points problematizing this year’s approach to IDs follow.

First of all, hyper focusing on one issue can make a person blind to other issues, or make students feel harassed, and such side effects might be happening with the way admin is obsessing over IDs. ID badges are meant for staff to identify students with a single glance, but in the past even with this ID policy in motion, there have been multiple occasions of unidentified people on campus, even inside the school. I don’t understand them telling us these IDs are meant to keep us safe but even when we’re wearing them and being harassed through our school hallways, our lives are still continuously put in danger. Our school is more focused on making sure students follow the rules and wear these ID’s then actually paying attention to what’s going on around the school.

Now yes, I understand these kinds of situations specifically is why we are told to wear our ID’s. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), only 7% of schools in America use student IDs to make their campus more secure. Even with these situations having been going on they have opted for other, more effective methods. For instance, if you want to get a book out of your school’s library, you have to scan your ID badge in order to check it out. The same thing for when going to return it. Even when wanting to get your lunch, in order to get your food you have to scan your ID. Or when going outside of school and needing your ID to get discounts/deals with different places from the community involved with the school. Are the schools more concerned about things like this or their students' safety? I assume it’s a question very commonly asked. In other words, one thing that is confusing at AHS is if the ID strictness is logistical or for safety reasons.

Have schools ever sat down to think about how the ID’s make students feel? They can inflict negative feelings, stress, discomfort, it can maybe even make one feel insignificant. Nobody there really cares to remember your name and who you are. If some ID policies weren’t so strict kids may think school was a little bit more enjoyable. Let’s refer back to the ruthless punishments we get just for not wearing one. They make us pay money from our pocket just for a temporary one, or if you forget it too many times you’ll eventually be required to serve time in ISS. No kid wants to go through that every time they accidentally leave their ID while rushing to make it to the bus stop on time.

When I asked my co-worker, also a former classmate of mine at Airport High, Jada B., how many times she has been late or missed her bus due to looking for ID she said, “A lot. Sometimes I even just forget it because I don’t have time to look.”

If students still don’t feel secure and the school still allows things like this to affect our everyday lives, why do they expect us to care when they tell us to wear them. ID’s cannot keep anyone who wants to get on campus off and administration should learn to understand that walking onto campus isn’t as hard as it should be. Students not wearing their ID’s isn’t a disrespectful thing. I don’t think it has ever been, it’s just more of the fact students feel more comfortable without it on and school’s should take that into consideration. The ridiculous punishments obviously haven't had any effect. I do, though just sit and wonder sometimes if administrators realize the more they tell us to do something the more we are gonna wanna disobey it. We’re “teenagers” right? It’s just a known fact.