School administration lifted the student ID policy for this school year, originally put in place to ensure the safety of students and staff in response to several active threats to schools nationwide in recent years. Though there is no longer a requirement for students to possess and wear identification on campus, they may still choose to wear IDs.
“When I heard we didn’t need IDs anymore, I was surprised,” sophomore Alexander Thorne said. “Since they pushed the policy so much last year, I didn’t expect them to lift it so suddenly. If it was for our safety, I don’t know why they made such a quick turn-around.”
Although the policy was to protect those on campus, it came with unforeseen challenges for both students and faculty. Many students lost or forgot to wear their IDs, leading to built-up consequences being dealt, such as in-school suspensions. Teachers would also have to check if students had their IDs, disrupting class and consuming some time.
“Most of the time the IDs were more a hassle than anything else,” sophomore Weldon Nesbitt said. “A lot of [students] got annoyed with them, and we had to waste class time so the teachers could check if we all had our IDs.”
Even with the intended safety measures that the IDs carried, some teachers began to see them as more troublesome than helpful. The IDs, they argued, felt of little importance and carried no purpose other than identifying students by sight.
“In order for [the IDs] to work, they needed a purpose,” world geography teacher Colton Hinds said. “There should’ve been benefits to encourage students to wear them. Otherwise, they’re just something for students to wear and forget about.”
Thus far, the change of policy has not seen any major complications. Even while the policy was in place, excessive leniency and in some cases complete disregard for the rule led to inconsistencies enforcing the policy, putting its effectiveness in question.
“I voted against the policy last year, but I still enforced it,” Hinds said. “That said, though, my colleagues would need to do the same if we wanted to have the policy stick. How are students expected to follow the rules when the people in charge are inconsistent with them?”
