Every morning at  the Lehman High School campus, students have  to go through scanners before entering the school, which takes up extra time as they try to get to class.  The lines are  long and complicated. But here’s the thing. Teachers don’t have to go through scanners, which isn’t fair because anyone can bring anything to school, student or teacher.

It’s the same every morning. You come to school and the security officers force you to take off your belts, jackets, hats and everything in your pockets. Furthermore, they’ll search your bags and confiscate your water bottles or any other items that they think are inappropriate for school. Is that really how we deserve to be treated? If they say they want students to be safe, then I feel like everyone in the school should go through scanners to maintain a safe and calm environment.

Students have mixed views on scanners, which are used to check students and their bags for forbidden objects. Symone Oliver from 10th grade said scanners are needed “because people like to bring weapons to school and if we didn’t have scanners, the school would be chaos”  Briana Hutchinson, a 10th grader, agreed: “They are necessary because say people got problems with other people and bring a weapon to hurt them”

Sanjay Singh from 12th grade disagrees. “They are a waste of time,” he said. “Anyone could just run in the school and harm anyone and start shooting without going through scanners”

Angel Escobar, a senior, believes, everyone, including teachers should have to to through scanning. “It’s not fair that teachers don’t have to go through scanning when anyone can be capable of anything”

One of the security officers explained that the scanning system is set up to prevent incidents.

He makes a good point because you don’t want a school that is dangerous and students stop coming because they’re scared of what people might be carrying around. While many of us understand the importance of the scanning system, some of us might think that it’s a form of an unjust treatment that violates our rights but they are just keeping us safe and alive. People against scanning argue that it is a violation of privacy to be searched before entering the building everyday, especially if they have done nothing wrong. People in favor of scanning argue that a dangerous school would prevent individuals from receiving their education. We all have to face similar procedures in airports and government buildings, and students deserve the same amount of protection.

Personally, I feel like we should have scanners because if we didn’t, then students would bring harmful objects to school. I don’t want to walk the school in fear knowing that anyone could be carrying a knife, gun or other deadly weapon.