By George Binkley

 Recently, schools across America have been either encouraging or enforcing students to wear identification, sparking a lot of controversy.

   After the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting in February 2018, many schools have looked for ways to keep their campus safe. And one popular way of doing this would be getting their students to wear IDs.    

   ID cards would be used to help identify students and prevent anyone from being on campus who is not supposed to be. But not everyone agrees with this method.

   Identification cards could be seen as an invasion of privacy. All day, you would have your name and picture on you, for all to see. This could make some feel insignificant. Having your name on an ID card might make students feel unimportant. People would not have to remember names anymore, because the name is right there on the card.

   Instead, students should be encouraged to have their IDs on them. Whether it be in their wallet or in their backpack, or somewhere that would not put their name out in the open. And if they are asked to show their ID, they can. But having to wear an ID around is not ideal and should not be enforced.

   I do not see the point of an ID if we already have an attendance system. Students are marked absent or present whether or not they are at school. And visitors are required to sign in at the front office. There is an old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and I feel like schools are trying to fix something that is not broken.

   To add to the attendance system, staff and other students should be able to recognize someone who shouldn’t be there. Visitors require a visitor’s pass, and teachers should recognize students.

   If students are required to wear identification, then there would most likely be a punishment for them not wearing their identification. If a student were to accidentally leave their ID at home, there could trouble entering the school, even as a student.

   Counterfeit IDs could be produced, taking advantage of the system. Fake IDs could be a danger to the school, if put into the wrong hands as well as students using other student’s IDs. Students could take another student’s ID and use it.

   Security cameras are installed for a reason. The cameras are used to monitor the halls and make sure there is no one on campus who is not supposed to be.

   IDs would only be used to identify students, not threats. And what is to stop a student from being a threat? An ID would not stop a threat. But it may stop someone who is simply trying to visit. Implementing some sort of security measure, like a metal detector however, would identify threats. IDs only identify strangers, not threats to the campus.

   One thing could lead to the next. Some schools in San Antonio, Texas, require students to wear IDs on campus. And now those schools are putting GPS chips in those IDs, so they always know where that student is. This is a major invasion of privacy.