Sound The Trumpet : Students Face Detention Rather Than Wear Unpopular Badges Around Their Necks At AAHS

Must Listen

Must Read

What Art Thinks

Pre-Millennialism

Today's Headlines

Sorry... Not Available

Locally Contributed...

Audio

Video

Special Interest

Daily News

19269

“Students Face Detention Rather Than Wear Unpopular Badges Around Their Necks At AAHS”
by Altoona Mirror
June 18th, 2013

For the past four months, Altoona Area junior and senior high students have been ordered by school administrators to wear identification cards on lanyards around their necks or face detention.

Detention halls have been filled more frequently than usual over the past four months, students sad.

Senior Uthman Hill has had a couple detentions, no, “a lot,” he said for forgetting his ID. “If you forget a few times, you get Saturday detention. It’s corny,” he said of the rule.

The reason for the ID cards was presented by administrators as “for security reasons,” but many students don’t think it’s effective.

“I don’t know how it will stop someone from coming into the school,” junior Katelyn Mauser said.

“I don’t like them – a lot of girls don’t like them. It ruins outfits,” she said.

Some have accepted the change.

“I really don’t mind them anymore,” sophomore Sam Figard said. “They are just a habit. Everybody complains about them, but it’s really not a big deal to me.”

The IDs don’t necessarily serve a purpose to senior Devaughn Brawley.

“I don’t think they are needed, but I don’t think they are useless. I just put it on because I was told to – ‘for security reasons,’ which implies the whole Newtown thing,” he said.

Although the reason for the IDs was not expressly stated, students believe they understand their purpose – “because of what happened in Connecticut,” seventh-grader Cory Graffius said. “In some way they are useful because they can identify who you are,” he said.

Nationwide, students wearing IDs around their necks has been a common practice for as long as Kevin Quinn, National Association of School Resource Officers president, can remember.

Quinn is also a 12-year Arizona school resource officer.

The IDs serve as a way to quickly identify students, Quinn said.

The reason for the IDs at Altoona isn’t just Newtown, said district Community Relations Director Paula Foreman.

IDs are required at Altoona junior and senior high schools because students from other school districts have entered the schools to blend in with their Altoona Area friends as a joke, she said.

Graduate Harry Smeltzer said the badges may keep drugs out of schools.

But upset that administrators sought to discredit his complaints instead of listen to him, Mike Lattieri has pulled his daughter out of the district and enrolled her in a cyber school after she was given detention for forgetting her ID during what was supposed to be a “grace period” during the first few weeks of the new rule.

He sought understanding from administrators, but they were not responsive, he said.

Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13