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The Teen Appeal
The University of Memphis
300 Meeman Journalism Building
Memphis, TN., 38152
(901) 678-4710
fax (901) 678-4287
When students go to school every morning, they should expect to be in a safe environment. They should expect to have all of their personal belongings to be safe. But, most of all, they have the right to feel they are safe.
But those are only expectations.
Early one March morning as Craigmont High School students arrived at school, there were gang threats plastered all over the building.
“It was horrible and scary,” said Jessica Strain, a Craigmont junior. “I was afraid to go to school because of what could happen.”
Many students said they thought the staff would be prepared in such a situation and have metal detectors ready to use. That wasn’t the case. Students came in that morning without any kind of inspection. Even with such visible threats, students walking through the doors could have had guns, knives or other weapons and no one would have known.
Talk about safe.
Security at our schools certainly isn’t what it should be. To many of us it seems that more money could be spent in this area.
“I think school security could be 100 percent better,” said Jennifer Clingan, a Craigmont junior. “Even when the metal detectors are being done, I don’t think checking two people and letting 20 people walk past is efficient or smart.”
I’ve experienced other situations that have made me question my school’s safety and security policies. My own vehicle has been broken into twice in the parking lot during school hours. Each time, I felt like I really wasn’t important to any of the staff.
The first time it happened I was told to come back to fill out a police report the next day. When I came back, the security guard had not come in yet. I wasn’t able to fill out a report until about 24 hours after my car was vandalized, when I should have been able to fill out the report right after it happened. The next time my car got broken into I demanded to fill one out then and there.
It seems that in situations like this there should be a review of camera tapes and the guard should inspect the crime scene. None of that happened in either of my experiences, and I feel that this lack of procedure shows a lack of concern on the part of administrators and school security officers.
I know that schools don’t have enough staff to police everything all of the time, but it seems that when there is an incident, there should be some sort of swift action to remedy the situation and help give students some peace of mind that someone is taking them and their safety seriously. Right now, many of us don’t feel that way.