In an effort to increase safety at schools throughout the Atlanta Public Schools (APS), board members have decided to increase the presence of metal detectors on campuses. To be more specific, metal detectors will be installed at the entrance of each classroom and bathroom in a school building. The installation process will begin on April 1st and should be completed before the end of the school year in early May. The news of these detectors has sparked a variety of opinions from teachers and students alike. What do the Dubs have to say about it?
In a recent statement about the new sensors, APS detailed the process one must go through to enter a classroom or bathroom. First, students must allow their bag to be subjected to a mandatory check, followed by the emptying of pockets, and then a walk through the detectors. If the student passes these three tests, they may enter the classroom. “Blasphemy, pure blasphemy,” said junior Cameron Louie. “I feel like I’m living in some sick dystopian world.”
For most students, the common first reaction is confusion, and subsequently, anger. This especially goes for the underclassmen, as this policy will be in place for their next two to three years of high school. Meanwhile, seniors have felt mostly ambivalent about the new detectors. “I’m just glad they’re doing this right before I leave this school for good,” said senior Alex Katz. “If this was going down my freshman year, I would probably have to leave the district.”
Teachers, however, are glad to see the new increase in safety precautions throughout the school. After all, the sensors will do their job in sorting out the various contraband that is brought into North Atlanta every day. In fact, some teachers believe that APS should take an even more radical approach. “If I was on that school board, I would lobby for an on-campus police station, fit with a holding cell for misbehaving children,” said IB Math teacher Tiffany Grant.
Big changes for North Atlanta are coming soon, and students and teachers have a lot to say about them, positive and negative. For now, these detectors will only be in place in classrooms and bathrooms, but there’s no telling how far APS can go with this. They have already started talks about hiring bathroom attendants and requiring student ID for entry, but those policies are still a long way from being enacted.
