Is your school unsafe? No, but scanners in schools make it seem that way.

To start things off, what are scanners? Well, according to the New York School Safety pamphlet created in 2013, metal detectors or “scanners” have been used in schools, initially by the Board of Education and currently by the NYPD.

The data available indicate that there are about 78 scanners throughout New York City schools and eight random scanning sites.

Permanent magnetometers include both magnetometers also known as scanners are placed at a school that students must pass through every day as well as magnetometers that are hidden and only used occasionally.

Now that scanners also known as metal detectors have been very prominent in many private schools in New York, but why is that? Have there been a huge amount of school shootings in our schools? No, as a matter of fact, according to the New York Times, the last school shooting occurred at East Greenbush, New York where Jon Romano a student had snuck in with a firearm and fired two rounds from a shotgun, wounding just one teacher. He was tackled by the assistant principal and charged with one count of attempted murder, said the district attorney of Rensselaer County, Patricia DeAngelis. Mr. Romano, who pleaded not guilty, could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Just after the first shot occurred at about 10:30 a.m., the school was put into lockdown, roughly 1,400 students were told to get on the floor and stay hidden in their classrooms. (This is also something that students in Millennium practice in drills).

Within a half-hour, police SWAT teams were searching the building as helicopters circled overhead. Parents began to receive many phone calls from their children, but when they rushed to the school they were directed to a nearby middle school, where they waited for the students to be brought over by bus. Unfortunately all  this occurred in 2004, which is more than a decade ago. It’s kind of surprising since there are so many schools in the New York that have scanners within entry of them.

So, after finding that out, do you think it’s still safe to be having scanners in schools? Well yes it’s kind of obvious there have been many school shootings all over America, and it is a very good idea to make such a safe decision, even though our state hasn’t had one in a while – just like the known saying, “better safe than sorry.”

But, do students of Millennium really agree with this fact? Julie Terrone, a senior in our school, was questioned about this issue said,”the scanners are extremely annoying to go through every morning. They are a reason why students end up being late but I think they are beneficial in making the students feel a sense of security and safety in the building.”

This makes sense about the fact of feeling secure in your own school and that is what is important in the end of the day, but the school really should try to find a way to make the process less tedious so that students can avoid being late to school and miss out on going to lunch.

A second student questioned about the issue decided to remain anonymous.  She stated, ”Scanners are fine. It makes sense that the school wants us to be safe, but the security guards always expect people to know how to do everything perfectly…as if it’s not 7:30 in the morning and we did not just wake up.” This quote was is blatantly honest. Many would agree that the security guards are somewhat cranky in the morning, just like the students, but at least they get paid for being there.

Another addition to the morning is Mr. Conway, who is the principal of Millennium. He stands in front of scanners and gives the students some sort of happiness with a “good morning” greeting, which is a nice start since the past three years seniors have not been used to it.

All in all, scanners are something students have to deal with regardless and are a good way for students to be safer and at least feel that way. Some stuff might be a hassle and make people late for school, but it’s worth it in the end since our school is a good school and going through the scanners is just one small problem to deal with.