UHS has undergone major security changes for this school year. Among these modifications are a new door policy, increased security at sporting events, and the possibility of metal detectors. Teachers and staff are primarily affected by these alterations, along with the student body.
The locked door policy has been a significant shift for this school year. This policy requires doors to be locked at all times. “Even if it is after school as long as there is a student on the campus the county requires all doors to be locked,” said Assistant Principal Ms. Tomsai. These new rules apply to after-school events as well. Doors must remain locked all throughout the school during sporting events such as football games. The main concern with security enforcement is the staff to student ratio.“The issue is having 200 staff and having to get it to work for 3000 students,” said Tomsai. Although staff agrees the policy will take time to get used to, they hope that this policy will affect our school’s security for the better.
Orange County Public Schools is launching a program to enact metal detectors in several of its high schools. The system is designed to scan backpacks and bags for potential weapons. Many students express hesitation with this new system, some concerned by the inconvenience of it. “It would take forever if we had to go one by one into the school, it’d make students late for classes and cause more issues than it would help,” said sophomore Kyan Rosado. Students appear doubtful of advantages with the system. It would give me the same security as the cameras do, they won’t do much,” said Rosado. As far as who has the final say in whether metal detectors are implemented, that is out of UHS faculty’s control. “It’s the county that makes that decision,” said Ms. Tomasi.
As the school year starts off, only time will tell how these changes impact and influence security at UHS.
