Doherty has changed many regulations this school year. We have a new tardy policy, a no-phone policy, teachers must lock the door after the bell rings, and students are not allowed to leave campus unless it is during the passing period. Administration says these rules are for safety and to benefit our academic records for our district and our school. This brings me to this question: Do students feel safer than they were before at Doherty High School?
We no longer have our phones. Kids’ biggest argument with this is not feeling safe if a life-threatening situation happens at our school and we cannot reach out to any authorities, our parents, or each other. However, our tardy policy of locking the doors as soon as the bell rings, could be beneficial if an intruder came into our building, they would not have access to any of our classrooms because they are automatically locked. Security is a lot more involved this year than ever before, they constantly are checking security cameras, our front door is always locked, and they must have the authority to buzz them into the school, two years ago the doors were always unlocked for students to get in and out, so I feel them locking it all the time is a safer option.
We have not had a lock down like we have had in the past few years. We no longer have many fights, or kids misbehaving, kids wandering the hallways, I feel our new rules did help benefit our school being calmer and more secure.
Kids and teachers, however, have different opinions, Savannah Allgood a senior here at Doherty, “I do feel these new rules can benefit us, but I just can’t ever feel completely safe with having my phone locked up in a pouch. If something happens in our school, I will need my phone to call my parents to tell them so I know they know because I just can’t ever feel safe relying completely on the school to assure my safety, just thinking about having to put my trust into a school is terrifying enough.”
Another student Aurora Bianchi said, “If there is an emergency how am I supposed to tell my parents what is going on? The tardy policy does not make me feel safe. It is not a bright idea. It is not proactive. If an intruder comes into our school, I cannot rely on them to keep me safe. Mr. Comiskey our Art teacher says, “Yeah, I think Doherty high school is a safe school this year it has gotten better security wise.” Our teachers and students have a very different perspective on our school, a lot of things go with people feeling safe, from our new rules to phones to threats.
This shows some great examples of what Doherty has been and how much we have improved in our school. Overall Doherty is a good school, in a beautiful state, located in a great environment and we should be grateful for this.
