Here at Bethpage High School there has never been a dangerous security problem. But because of the recent atrocious events that have occured in Florida and the many other shootings, the Bethpage Administration is wanting to up security.

Recently the superintendent of the Bethpage School District, Terrence Clark, made a serious phone call about some security issues in wake of Parkland. One of the many small but very important things that Mr. Clark discussed was the definite addition of ID cards to all students. Mr. Clark went on to say that these IDs “will be worn at all time and will assist [the school staff] in spotting intruders.”

When talking to some of the students here in Bethpage, I had found out some students such as Brandon Bestany, a junior, believe that “school IDs are unneeded and would not help against someone who is wanting to cause harm to the students here.” On the other hand some students, such as myself, feel that the school IDs would be a good addition to school security because it will help the BHS staff to more easily prevent random people from entering the school.  Although many students may not like the idea of carrying an ID around, it will be easy to get used to.

Another major security update that is being discussed by Mr. Clark and the rest of the school board is the addition of metal detectors to our schools. Overall metal detectors would be a big jump for our school security. Many students and staff may be worried and concerned at first but metal detectors would help the school security in a huge way. Although it would be a big adjustment, nothing is more important than safety in schools.

Some students such as Andrew Lee, a junior here in Bethpage, think that “metal detectors are a violation of privacy and shouldn’t be used.” Mr. Malossi, an English teacher here at Bethpage High School agreed with Andrew and said that “metal detectors are only for knives and small weapons and they will never be able to stop a shooter because a shooter would just force their way in.” Even though metal detectors would partially protect us, they wouldn’t be able to prevent a large scale problem.