By Izzy Mach

On February 14, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, located in Parkland, Fla., was involved in the 17th school shooting this year. Seventeen students and faculty members were killed, and another 14 were injured. This tragedy sparked discussion on gun control and the efforts made by schools to keep students safe.  

“Make sure the classroom doors are always locked,” said Broward County School superintendent Robert W. Runcie. “Make sure the people that are actually monitoring the campus, are doing it so with a high degree of vigilance.”

Runcie also suggested things like metal detectors and cameras. The high school is starting to feel like a prison and the students agree.

Not only are they pushing this new change of a higher security, the school is making the students wear ID badges at all times and even transparent backpacks. This is this an invasion of privacy of students and is also useless in a way of protecting the students and staff of the school.

“Clear backpacks don’t do anything except make us look stupid,” said Carly Novell, a student at the school, via Twitter.  “We want to be safe, not uncomfortable. The only thing that can really have an impact on our safety is gun control.”

Another student Kendria R Woods agrees when she tweets out, “well we already have clear backpacks at our school – a boy still managed to bring a knife and bullets so yeah. If they want to commit a crime, THEY WILL FIND A WAY. This is not always effective just saying.”

The logic behind this backpack rule is not really thought out. Many question how a clear backpack can protect someone from a gun or how there are so many other schools that need safety, too.

Students are decorating these clear backpacks to make a statement. One student put the words “Prisoner #0612074413” and tweets out “So we got clear backpacks today. They never said we couldn’t customize them.” Sarcasm and witty humor is being used by students to push their point even further. Another student put a price tag on her bag and stated that the bag is probably worth more than her life.

Some may side with the opinion of how these backpacks will help and how no one will get harmed again because they will be able to see what is in the backpack. And higher security will help as well. Schools should not feel like a prison and students don’t want to be scared to go to school anymore because of past events.