Metal detectors, full body scans, x-rays for your bags: we’ve all gone through it, and we’ve all complained about it. Airport security is infamous for being slow, inefficient and ineffective. Why, then, would we put something similar–and even less effective–at WHHS? This is something outraged students have been asking themselves since rumors of the new security measure started spreading over the summer. Students were concerned about long lines, having to stand in inclement weather and potentially intrusive searches on a daily basis. As the school year began, most of those concerns were realized.

       Let’s get this out of the way: the metal detectors are not effective at making our school safer. If the plague of school shootings sweeping across this country is what caused Cincinnati Public Schools to impose these metal detectors upon us, they’ll be preventing nothing with them. First of all, the searches conducted at the metal detectors are inconsistent and in no way comprehensive. At one entrance you may have a security guard lazily sift through the main compartment of your backpack, while at another they may just let you through, no questions asked. It doesn’t take a Transportation Security Administration agent to tell you that this is no way to stop an attack. All a shooter needs to do is get lucky and go through the right entrance. If the attacker were smart, though, they would go through one of the many unlocked side doors that students have been using to evade the metal detectors since the first day of school.

        These metal detectors are however, very effective at making students late to class. All it takes is for a few busses to unload at the same time and you’ll have a 10 to 15 minute line on your hands. Most teachers, I’m sure, would be lenient, but those students with ultra strict first bell teachers are out of luck. A bigger concern students have about these lines, though, is the weather. Already, students have had to stand in the rain for long periods of time. What will happen when students are made to stand outside in the snow or with wind chills below zero? These are serious concerns that clearly were not taken into account when implementing metal detectors at WHHS.

A lot of these concerns can be amended, but none of them can be outright fixed. There are legitimate reasons to have metal detectors at school, but do the drawbacks outweigh the benefits? As it stands, the best option is to remove the metal detectors outright. WHHS has already taken strides to curb the root causes of school shootings, and that’s what we should be focusing on: addressing mental health concerns, stamping out bullying and instilling in students a respect for themselves and others.