The effectiveness of security has always been an important aspect of schools. In light of recent events at Berner, in which one student threatened the safety of others, security has been on peoples’ minds more than it had previously been. 

For the past few years, there has been a requirement for students and faculty members to wear colored lanyards with ID badges around their necks. The ID displays students’ faces and names, as well as a barcode that is used to sign in and out of locations such as the bathroom, the library, and some offices. Ever since 7th grade, many students have seen the IDs as a burden due to the consequences that were given if they were to forget to wear them. 

Although students at Massapequa don’t necessarily like wearing them because they are viewed as an inconvenience, it has become muscle memory for most people to simply put it on in the morning before the school day. 

However, there are some conflicting opinions about the effectiveness, or lack thereof, with the ID system. There has been a question floating around whether or not the ID is enough or if it is even effective at all. Along with the question, is there a substitution that would be a better option in benefitting the safety of our students, faculty, and staff? 

Some students at MHS seem to have passionate opinions on whether or not we should be wearing IDs and if they are effective. “I think the IDs are a good way of organizing our school and providing safety. The colored coded lanyards let us know what grade each student is in and lets us sign into facilities, such as the library, automatically,” says junior Maddie D. The color of the lanyards is an aspect of the IDs that could help teachers and other staff identify students by grade. 

“IDs are good enough security for Massapequa High School because the bright colors can easily show if you are supposed to be in the school or not. In my opinion, there really isn’t a need to spend extra money on security that is not needed,” said Matt H., mentioning that spending the extra money might not be effective or possibly just as effective as the form of security we have at school currently. 

“I believe that IDs are effective in keeping Massapequa High School a safe environment for students and faculty because they are very strictly enforced. Administrative heads of the school are very diligent in making sure students comply with wearing their IDs to prevent intruders and unsafe situations,” says junior Nicole F. 

Many students believe that the IDs are effective. They think that the need for extra safety and security at our school isn’t necessary. Along with this, many students are confident that we live in a considerably safe environment. 

Despite several students’ positive views about MHS’s ID system, it does have its drawbacks. Many students believe that it is ineffective, explaining that the presence of a lanyard is more of a priority, rather than the ID badge itself. 

“Wearing a lanyard can still get you into the school, even if there is no ID,” said Jenn Cali, a 10th grader. “If you walked in with a colored lanyard, you’d be fine.”

Students pointed out that temporary IDs are also easy to acquire (or fake), and some students have admitted that they were able to enter the school without proper IDs. Many students have pointed out that it would be easy for people to come into the school, and because of this, there is a concern about intruders. 

“Lanyards are not effective; they do nothing against someone who’s hiding something on their person,” said Erin Tumminello, an 11th grader. “Someone could bring a concealed weapon into the building without anyone knowing. People could get hurt.”

It has been pointed out that a possible alternative to simply wearing IDs is that the badges can be scanned to enter the school. Another alternative could be the use of metal detectors, with or without the use of IDs, since this would be able to detect concealed weapons as well as not require IDs to be worn by students who do not want to.

The debate about IDs will most likely remain until new security advancements and ideas are readily approved by the board. The argument over whether or not the IDs are effective is still up in the air considering there are so many factors that contribute to the reason why we wear them. Whether or not they are a good or bad option for security, for now, MHS’s ID system is here to stay.