OPINION: Metal detectors are the solution
RNE should install them at any cost
Assistant principal Will Clark assists at a metal detector entrance. The district has implemented surprise metal detector checks several times throughout this school year. Staff writer Sanaa Blair feels that the district should install permanent ones.
As you scroll through different social media platforms like Tiktok or Instagram, or you might even watch the news or listen to a radio station, you might encounter a school incident involving a student with a weapon. This seems to happen daily in schools in America.
Just in 2023 alone, according to EducationWeek’s “School Shooting Tracker,” there have reportedly been 14 mass school shootings where people were harmed or died.
This raises the question of how schools can increase safety measures to ensure their students are given the safety they need to excel in school.
Throughout school board meetings nationwide, there has been a controversial statement that metal detectors are imperative for schools. A reason why metal detectors are controversial is because of their cost. These devices can range from $4,500 to $5,000+, and school districts are thinking about how valuable an investment these devices are.
Metal detectors are the solution.
In 2019, WSCS reported that schools in South Carolina found more than 1,000 weapons that were either discovered with tips or with security devices.
When security devices (i.e. metal detectors) are in schools, students or visitors are less likely to bring weapons because of the fear of getting caught. Metal detectors also stop people from bringing obscured items onto campus.
Recently, districts in Columbia have had random metal detector days, like Richland 1 and Richland 2. A student at A.C. Flora High School was caught with an illegal substance because he did not want to go through the metal detector. Richland Northeast High School had just found a gun on one of their students because they used metal detectors.
The Richland School District Two website displays information and policies on school safety. Each section indicates a detailed paragraph on how they operate on school safety; some of the procedures include BeSmart and CrisisAlert, while other areas are informative about how schools will operate in situations.
With these proactive movements, as well as metal detectors installed at the school’s entrance, our students, teachers, faculty, and staff can feel secure in school.
Sanaa Blair is a Richland Northeast High junior who is part of Convergence Media, PCA Orchestra, and Horizon. She serves as a staff editor at the online...
