To prevent students from bringing weapons to school, the administrators are conducting random metal wand searches.
“If somebody is thinking about having a weapon on them, they will think twice because there’s always a chance they can be searched during the school day,” Officer Cibrian said.
The officer that does the k9 searches picks a random classroom and while he’s searching for drugs, the administrators are searching students with the metal wands. So far, they’ve gone through twenty classes.
“[The procedure] helps because it gives people peace of mind,” Officer Cibrian said. “I believe it helps [students] feel safer and I’m sure that if this wasn’t going on, people would get the idea of bringing stuff to school that they’re not supposed to, so I believe it deters crime.”
Senior Zach Hopkins was searched along with his classmates. He said that even though he felt like he was being accused of something, he still thinks this is an effective procedure.
“If a student were to have something that would harm another student, they would’ve found it,” Hopkins said.
Senior Hunter Green was also searched, but he has a different opinion than Hopkins.
“I feel like it was kind of unnecessary,” Green said. “I understand that they’re trying to make the school safer, but it just felt disruptive to do it in the middle of class. Having to search everybody and taking out two [students] at a time took at least ten minutes of class, and nobody even had anything.”
Officer Cibrian has a solution for those students who are questioning the new policy.
“If [students] don’t feel comfortable with it, that would be up to the administration to talk with them,” Cibrian said. “They could explain to them why it’s done, and why it’s in their best interest to participate.”
