Lanyards: Student Opinions

While working The Make a Wish booth at club rush on Sept 13, Andrew Nevarez,10, took time to give his thoughts on the new lanyard policy and other safety precautions introduced for the 2018-2019 school year. “Maybe we can add more security by stepping it up,” Nevarez said. “We can have maybe 2 guards per entrance if the school really values a safe environment.”

Diego Martinez, Copy Editor

Entering the 2018-2019 school year, Downey High established a new lanyard system in hopes to achieve a safer campus for the student body. Recently, the United States has had an influx of homicides in public spaces and the school intends to prevent unknown individuals from entering the campus to avoid tragedy.

 

The school will begin to enforce the student display of the lanyards and I.D. in order to verify the legitimacy of the individual entering the school campus. While this new security measure provides wellness to the students attending Downey High, it has caused them to speak out, presenting opinions and solutions for campus safety.

 

The student body believe in a secure and safe learning environment in order to feel comfortable. They want to protect the well-being of their fellow classmates. Daniel Garcia, 9, has positive feelings on the new safety measure.

 

“I feel a bit safer with the lanyards than I was without them,” Garcia stated. “I can see it helping the school in a more effective way.”

 

While the decree is just beginning to mature, students like Ivan Cuevas, 10, are starting to question its effectiveness. According to Cuevas he finds the lanyards to be in an awkward state between usefulness and pointlessness.

 

“I don’t find find the lanyards to be too effective in securing the campus, a student with their lanyard can still still do harm,” Cuevas said. “Though, on the contrary it would still help identifying people who aren’t students.”

 

The lanyards could be the start to new solutions to fend off against external dangers and students like Andrew Nevarez, 10, have made suggestions to help with future security decrees.

 

“Maybe help with security by stepping it up,” Nevarez said. “We can have maybe 2 guards per entrance if the school really values a safe environment and the people here.”

 

Dismayed or content with the lanyards, the students are parted individually on the matter. The proposed solution imposed by Nevarez presents that students at Downey High are concerned with stronger counters against external threats. The students see the lanyards as more of a symbolic gesture of the school wanting to do something, as the measures effectiveness against larger threats is questioned.

 

The students are embracing and disliking the lanyard decree but this may start an era of more regulations and student advocating here at Downey High.