Safety is a crucial part of the high school experience. The administration makes efforts to improve school safety, but some students react negatively to new procedures, which in return could endanger other students.

Staff has increasingly enforced badge usage around the school. Any time a student wishes to leave the classroom, they have to scan out with their badge on EOS. This ensures that, if needed, the system records can show which students were out of the classroom and address the problem appropriately. Students are also required to wear their badge upon arrival at school. Some students take advantage of the opportunity to leave the classroom. They exit the classroom and spend the whole class either in the bathroom or wandering the halls. This causes trouble for other students.

Metal detectors are also a crucial part of safety at HC. In the morning students are required to give their backpack to the security ambassador and walk through the metal detector. This helps prevent any unsafe items from entering the school. An example of this is that this year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School there was an incident with a gun. A student at the school tried to bring a gun into the building, but was unable to because the metal detector sensed it. Metal detectors actively protect HC students by controlling what enters the building. Students should be able to get into school in a timely manner without having to deal with possible danger at the metal detector.

Over the years there have been countless fights involving students. Most of the fights happen in the hallway. The hallway is supposed to be a place to safely walk to to get to class. A lot of students use it as a gathering place instead of getting to where they need to be. The gatherings sometimes turn into fight circles that can be dangerous. Students should not be put into danger because of the conflict between other students.

This year in particular there have been multiple fights that have happened in the bathrooms. Students use the bathroom as a gathering place to hang out, thus defeating its original purpose. This can lead to uncomfortable situations for the students who just want to go to the bathroom and not deal with the drama that goes on in the bathrooms.

At HC, students have many restrictions to protect their own safety. Administrators constantly work to make the school safer. As a student body, we should adjust to the administration’s efforts to accommodate both student and staff opinions.