As students at MV rush into the building every morning to begin their school day, a new addition has been introduced to some students.  Many students at MV have been stopped on their way into school, given a blue dot on their hand, and told to go through the metal detectors.  Students then proceed to empty their pockets and backpacks to walk through a tall plastic frame.

We can all agree that nobody wants weapons entering the campus.  The idea behind these security devices is great.  Safety is and should be a huge priority for the school given the rise in school violence in the last decade.  But just because the safety precaution is justifiable, does not mean the execution is too.  Not all students are required to complete this task, rendering the argument of safety obsolete.  With the luck of whatever random number they decide to send to the gym lobby that morning, someone could still easily have a weapon or prohibited item on them.  But it is not realistic to expect every student to go through a detector every day- it is hardly practical for the current amount of students to do so.  Therefore, it’s hard to envision a scenario where metal detectors are efficiently utilized at this campus.

Another issue presented with the installment of the metal detectors is congestion.  The gym entrance is already packed in the morning with practically the whole student body entering the school as well as conversing and getting breakfast.  The metal detectors do not help with the situation.  The building entrances were simply not designed to accommodate the devices.   And though there are metal detectors in the Building A entrance, a majority of students do not use that entrance so they are not very helpful.

There is nothing we can do about these detectors.  They are here, and probably here to stay.  The best we can do is try to limit the amount of metal we carry- to help speed the process in the morning, don’t linger in the entryway- to limit the number of people, and try to be positive with good attitudes about this situation.

Having a good student mindset can be very beneficial to help ensure swift and efficient mornings at MV.