Student safety has been questioned by students, faculty and parents alike since Johnson has opened, due to fire-related mishaps, threats and other issues. They wonder if the measurements in place now will keep people safe, or if security policies such as wearing an ID should be more lax, as some think they will not prevent anything. 

The security measurements that are currently in place, including wearing IDs, should remain in place, as they can only help to keep safety in school. 

IDs do a simple thing for the school; they identify the person wearing them. IDs ensure that people that are here should be here, and anyone that is not here stands out, either without an ID or with an incorrect one. IDs are also simple to wear, and to the dismay of those who despise wearing them, require little more thought than putting around your neck and keeping it on throughout the day. An ID may not keep someone out of the building, but it will ensure that the people in the building deserve to stay in it.

IDs are easy to keep track of, and just as easy to replace. Even though it should be hard to lose something you wear, then store somewhere, then wear again, it is possible, and the solutions to that problem are simple and effective. If someone forgets their ID, or if an ID is completely lost, it can be replaced for only $5 in the library. Safety measures like this that are simple and easy to enforce should stay in place, and cannot hurt the school environment in any way. 

There are worse ways of ensuring school safety than an ID badge. There could be random bag searches, there could be no leaving the school and coming back during off periods, and there could also be no outside lunches. IDs are scrutinized by the student body, and there is always something negative to say about the ID badges, however, there could be stricter security measures that are much more inhibiting to student freedom. Asking students to wear an ID should not be asking too much, as in the future, students may end up with a job that requires them to wear an ID or a badge. 

Students and staff want to feel secure in the building they spend the majority of their weekdays in. IDs help do that. The big question of the necessity of IDs, and how pertinent they are to school safety, has also been around since IDs were required, but it should not even be a question. IDs should stay, and they do help with school safety, despite the disgruntlement associated with wearing them. If wearing a plastic badge is the worst part about a student’s day, then they should consider themselves lucky. Admin is not being unreasonable in asking students to help take an active role in school safety by wearing their IDs.