HarlemLIVE

Many in the public school system see metal detectors as symbols of a larger problem, and the issue of violence in New York City schools is a big one that is steadily increasing.

The New York Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (NY-ACLU), a non for profit organization that defends civil liberties and civil rights, says in its July 2009  fact sheet that at least 99,000 students daily pass through permanent metal detectors to enter their school buildings. NY-ACLU's research in its fact sheet has revealed that the high schools with permanent metal detectors issued 48 percent more suspensions than schools without metal detectors.

Amal Abadi, a schoolteacher who has taught in 12 New York City schools,  has misconceptions about schools with strict security, “When I'd see the metal detectors, I think, this isn't a safe school.”

While some believe that metal detectors help prevent violent acts, and contribute to a decrease in the rates of violence, 18-year-old high school student Justine Tanco does not agree. To her even with metal detectors there is still violence. But, she said that while violence can never be stopped, it should be prevented whenever possible.

The security guards intentions are to ensure a safe environment for students and sometimes that involves invading their privacy. "Everything that we own is going through a thing for everyone to look through,” said Tanco.

For many students, metal detectors are a source of delay: the time it takes to line up, unpack contents from bags and pockets, have them scanned, and repack into bags and pockets. And, for those students who forgot to empty or remove any metallic item, when the scanner alarm sounds, that student has to be scanned with a wand, while the other students wait. In larger schools, those with student populations of 1,000 and better it takes an additional 10 minutes to pass through the metal detectors. For those schools with large student populations and with too few scanners, the process could take longer, meaning that many students are likely late for their classes, such as Monee Salvador who is frequently late arriving at school is made even later to class due. Tanco said that more equipment would help to quicken the pace.

But Jerod Resnick, principal of High School of Graphic Communication Arts (HSGCA) in Midtown, Manhattan said that while metal detectors are identified as slowing students’ entry into the school building, they are however needed in the city’s schools. As a NYC Department of Education employee for over 40 years, Resnick said, "Students do come to school carrying items such as box cutters and knives that they should not have on them"

Presenting an opposing view, Terri Johnson, a sophmore at HSGCA does not feel that metal detectors are needed."I hate them," she shouted. "They're an inconvenience. It's not like somebody's gonna bring a gun."

In fact, there were incidents when weapons had been brought into schools.  Padilla, a security guard at HSGCA,who only gave his last name recalled one occasion when a student brought in a dagger to school. The weapon, she said, was confiscated and the student's parents were called.

In many schools, those with student populations with students 16-years and older, bringing a weapon to school would have been considered an offense and the student responsible would likely have been suspended, issued a summons and possibly arrested.

The NY-ACLU believes that the theory called the Student to Prison Pipeline is damaging to many students’ educational abilities, "Indirectly, schools push students towards the criminal justice system by excluding them from the learning environment and isolating them from their peer groups through suspensions, expulsions, ineffective retention policies, transfers, and high-stakes testing requirements."

Because of the high rate of violence in schools, many students feel threatened and in defense bring weapons for their protection. Resnick said that students who feel threatened are likely to use weapons if they had any in their possession, “That’s why it is better to scan students and discourage then from carrying such items at all times.”

However, while many students feel that metal detectors are an inconvenience its results are effective.

Elizabeth McCune, who's from a Okalahoma City, Okalahaoma who has taught in Santiago, Chile believes that because of the city’s high crime rate, metal detectors are needed and described the incidences of violence when she attended her high school in Oklahoma as “once in the blue.”

Then McCune said, there were no metal detectors in her high school and she never witnessed violence at her school.

“Someone brought in something [weapon] once in a blue moon but there was never any actual violence. I’m not a fan of metal detectors, but I see no better solution,” she said.