Over summer break, RBHS installed new security methods and policies, one of them being metal detectors. After the first day of this system being utilized, RBHS principal Jacob Sirna noticed the unforeseen obstacles from the implementation of the new security.
The first day of school, students were “left outside of the building until 10 a.m,” Sirna said. Witnessing students being heavily inconvenienced by the new system upset Sirna.
“[I] was disheartened day one. It was an emotional struggle to see all those students piled up there, not able to get into school,” Sirna said. “You should be able to be dropped off by your parents, walk up and make it into the building in a timely manner.”
The issue was the metal detectors were only allowing one student at a time through the Main Entrance, as mandated by the Board of Education. Entering the school was a slow process and many set off the detectors, lacking prior knowledge that binders and laptops trigger the sensors.
“We don’t want to touch anybody; we don’t want to pat anyone down,” Sirna said. “We’re confident that we’re going to get down to being able to work these lanes with how smart our students are. It should just be a moving line.”
To accommodate the building’s large population and limited amount of resources, only the Main Entrance was equipped with metal detectors.
“Each lane you have requires a certain amount of personnel,” Sirna said. “So we made the decision late in the summer to make the [Main] Entrance the single entrance into the building.”
As the week progressed, students began moving through the line faster, just as Sirna anticipated.
“The improvements have come from students understanding what they need to have out. It’s a way of starting the day we’re not used to,” Sirna said. “That was honestly the biggest change made. The anxiety of day one was intense. As that eases, it makes the whole thing easier.”
Senior Hayden Barnes shared similar feelings to Sirna. He said he believes that there are issues with the metal detectors, but if they don’t impact the day further, it’s not much of a problem.
“They’re preemptive, and it’s great in what they’re doing,” Barnes said. “We got to work on efficiency and everything else, but they’ve been working on it all week. As long as it doesn’t really impede the school day, whatever, just move on.”
Many echo these sentiments, such as junior Liam Rowes, who is supportive of the idea past the first day of school, which he describes as “chaos”.
“I think that [the metal detectors] have certainly gotten better, at least from the first day of school,” Rowes said. “It is still slightly annoying, but it’s not that bad. [The first day] was chaos [and] disorganized; I was 25 minutes late. The line was wrapped around the school to the North Entrance.”
However, many have had a less fortunate experience with the new security. Junior Elizabeth Reissing, a flute player for the RBHS Marching Band, has had numerous issues entering the school with her metal instrument.
“One morning, [security] took my flute to check it,” Reissing said. “They opened it sideways and all the pieces almost fell on the ground. Luckily, we caught it, otherwise my concert flute would have been broken. I know I am not the only person with an instrument that has experienced this. I fear that one day they are going to break something, whether that’s an instrument or even someone’s personal laptop.”
Sirna has faith in staff and students to work through these issues, citing inexperience with the new security system as a primary problem.
“Changing some things up with the weapon detection systems was necessary,” Sirna said. “ […] Our students now know what to do when they reach the security system. Our staff has been doing a great job, especially Keisha Edwards, and I think the more we have the security systems, the easier it will be to have them here.”
How do you feel about the security at Rock Bridge? Let us know in the comments below.
