Finding Solutions

Finding Solutions

Arriving at the front of the line, we nervously walk through the metal detector. A sigh of relief is let out when it remains silent. At airports all travelers have to wait in what are sometimes long lines to go through x-ray machines and metal detectors. Sometimes we are even subjected to warrant less searches. Everyone is compliant with these security measures because it is part of homeland security. Technology has greatly help protect air travel, and some of these same measures are seen in school today. Not only is technology vital to the protection of our nation but also our nation's schools. In the same way that technology is implemented at airports, tourist sites and government buildings to protect citizens from terrorist attacks, it is implemented in schools to protect students from any form of violence or abuse.

Metal detectors, threat evaluation software, police officers-hundreds of American schools have added tighter security since 1999's massacre at Columbine High School and other highly publicized cases of youth violence. Violence in schools has become a problem that Americans have had to face at an ever increasing rate. Instead of fistfights, the issues are fatal, like school shootings. Also, the problems of the past do not compare with those of today. In the old days, students could be suspended for chewing gum. Today, students are expelled for carrying guns. It is not surprising that school security has become just as important as national security. Integrating technology for better school security is not always easy because it is difficult to address the correct problem with the right equipment. Economic issues also exist as well as mental unrest among staff and students. Also, unlike at airports, not everybody understands the role of technology in schools. While it feels completely normal to pass through a metal detector at an airport, it feels like personal liberties are being violated when we are required to do the same at school. Times are changing and just like after September 11th, it will take some time to get used to everything.

In 1994, the federal government began requiring school safety programs and many schools introduced metal detectors to check for guns, knives, and other weapons. CNN reports that since the new measure were introduced "violent deaths on high school campuses across the United States dropped an estimated fifty incidents a year to less than half that number" ("U.S. Schools"). Many schools report that they have not found any weapons on students in recent years. But it is important to stay on the safe side and keep metal detectors in place rather than be sorry later. It's also not uncommon to see cameras in high schools across the nation and here in Central Texas. Surveillance cameras help monitor the safety of students and faculty. Cameras also serve as a method to identify students vandalizing school property or skipping class. Technology also assists in uncovering plans to commit capital murder. A school shooting plot at a Kansas high school was discovered because of a discussion on MySpace. The suspects apparently had started plotting since the beginning of the school year.

While technology plays a major role in school safety, many of these security measures are sending the "wrong