Should students wear ID cards?

Does your school require students to wear an ID card? Well, I believe that students should not be required to wear an ID card on campus.

J. Cavanaugh Simpson, a writer for The Baltimore Sun, explained, “Individuality and privacy will disappear. They'll be scanned like a bar-code, tracked, categorized and penalized for violating government structures created in the name of communal safety.”

As can be seen, research shows that people, no matter where they are in the world, believe that if the school requires students to wear ID cards, the students became dehumanized and more like property. Thus making a students’ individuality disappear, and them become hidden or unimportant.

“No, they should not. Knowing the students, they would just make fun of it and my guess would be that one person would just collect them all and have a collection of 300 student IDs. I also don't really see a valid reason why we would need to wear them except for maybe the first week or so of school. Wearing it on a lanyard around your neck would be uncomfortable and a distraction while keeping it in your pocket or backpack would be the same as keeping it at home,” said Justin Hartland, sophomore.

As can be seen, Hartland believes that teachers would have to collect a bunch of students IDs, and requiring students to wear their ID card around their neck will create a distraction for them.

Freshman Katie Duckham stated, “Students should not be required to wear IDs because students will constantly lose their ID cards. Also, they will treat it unprofessionally and never wear their ID cards.”

As can be seen, Duckham believes that students would not only lose their cards; students would also never wear their cards because they would not understand the reason for wearing it and make fun of the IDs.

On the other hand, most people believe that requiring students to wear an ID card is effective and useful.

Dale Rauenzahn, director of BCPS’s security, stated, “Make sure students, not strangers, gain access to schools. We're trying to keep our schools as safe and secure as possible.”

As shown above, Rauenzahn believes that requiring students to wear ID cards, grants students with full access to the school and denies access to strangers, which would ensure the safety and security of the school.

“Yes I personally think they should have to wear ID cards because if something should happen to the student and the teacher does not know who they are they can just look at their ID badge and have someone check if they have a disability or a medical condition where they would need their medicine,” said Kyle Palcisko, junior.

As has been noted, Palcisko believes that students should be required to wear IDs because if something was to happen to a student, teachers would be able to identify the student and inform emergency responses to their medical history.

Additionally, at Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, North Carolina, require their students to wear ID cards everywhere they go.

Stated in Charlotte Mecklenburg schools Rights and Responsibility Handbook, “Consequences for not displaying/possessing School ID: 1st Violation - Phone call home by Administrator, 2nd Violation - Lunch Detention, 3rd Violation - 1 Day After School Detention (ASD), 4th Violation - 2 Days ASD, 5th Violation - 1 Saturday School Detention (SSD), 6th Violation - 2 Days SSD, and 7th Violation - 1 Day In-School Suspension (ISS).”

As shown above, schools in Charlotte Mecklenburg make their students wear their ID cards around their neck and if they do not wear their ID card, they face consequences.

However, most schools do not require their students to wear an ID card. Requiring students to wear an ID card, would not effectively make the school environment safer and be able to improve.

Principal Dr. Milcetich said, “The pros of making students wear IDs is that students can be identified, purchase lunches, purchase tickets to events, be ID'd at testing, etc. However, many students lose them and it becomes cumbersome for students to remember, pay for extra or lost ID's, and for the school to enforce when the ID's are required. As a school, we have not really discussed this concept.”

As has been noted, Principal Dr. Milcetich thinks that there are pros to requiring students to wear ID cards. But, even if students are required to wear ID cards, most of the students would lose their ID card and never remember to put their ID card on.

Senior Sophia Longo explained, “No, I don't think ID cards are necessary nor effective in efforts to create a safer school environment. Unless there was ID checking at every door, anyone would still be able to enter the school. If there was ID checking/scanning at doors we would still be unable to avert the common courtesy of door holding. Those who do enter and do not belong would be weeded out minutes into the first period even without an ID card as they would be unrecognized by their teachers and classmates. Almost every school shooting in American history has been carried out by a student who was presently attending said school. I, therefore, believe ID badges would be ineffective in increasing school safety.”

As shown above, Longo stated that most school shootings are done by a student who attends the school already, so making students wear ID cards, would not provide a safer environment and would not help to prevent a dangerous event.

Overall, requiring students to wear an ID card would not create an effective or safer environment for students. Students would lose their ID card, make fun of the ID cards and its purpose, and it would not prevent a dangerous event from happening.