Survivors of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, returned from spring break Monday to new security measures that some students said made them feel like they were in prison.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas students encountered security barriers and bag check lines as they entered campus Monday morning. Inside the school, administrators handed out the students’ newest mandatory accessory: a see-through backpack much like the ones required at some stadiums and arenas, and an identification badge they must wear at all times.
The bags were yet another a stark reminder of how much had changed since a former student stormed the hallways on February 14, gunning down 17 people, junior Kai Koerber said. First, students lost their classmates and teachers. Now, with the bags, they’re sacrificing their privacy for what he and others consider an ineffective security measure.
“It’s difficult, we all now have to learn how to deal with not only the loss of our friends, but now, our right to privacy. My school was a place where everyone felt comfortable, it was a home away from home, and now that home has been destroyed,” he said.
Koerber thinks metal detectors would be more effective. The school district said it’s considering whether to install metal detectors at the school’s entrances. A letter from Principal Ty Thompson sent to families on Friday said that step has not been taken yet.
“True security would be metal detectors. Just implement a system that works. Similar to what they do at courthouses and the airport,” he said. “Clear book bags are truly ridiculous. It’s terrible that girls will have no privacy concealing their feminine products, and these bags won’t last a week with real textbooks in them! Metal detectors are a better solution.”
“This backpack is probably worth more than my life.”
The shooting galvanized a student-led movement calling for stricter gun laws, and some students used the clear bags to make a political statement.
Koerber and others attached an orange price tag to their bags. The $1.05 tag is intended to protest politicians, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who accept money from the National Rifle Association, by putting a price on each student.
“Starting off the last quarter of senior year right, with a good ol’ violation of privacy!” student Delaney Tarr said on Twitter.
She tagged Rubio in a tweet of a picture of her bag with feminine products and the orange price tag attached to it.
In addition to displaying the orange tag, senior Carmen Lo stuffed a sign into her backpack that read “this backpack is probably worth more than my life.”
In addition to privacy concerns, she wonders how students will carry sports equipment, instruments, and laptops.