Community Considers Measures to Tighten Security at Scarsdale High School

In response to the tragic events that occurred at Sandy Hook on December 14, school administrators, teachers, and students are giving SHS security a lot of thought. Assistant Principal Chris Griffin said his personal view definitely changed after December's tragedy. "If you weren't thinking about school security and safety, then I don't think you were alive. The days after the tragedy, there was a lot of emotion, and when people are emotional they look for immediate, severe changes ... now, we are trying to make prudent decisions as opposed to reactive decisions."

Currently, SHS has a building emergency response team comprised of teachers, administrators, parents, a police officer, a representative from Buildings and Grounds, a psychologist, and the Director of Counseling. The administration is reviewing the school's safety measures and will make recommendations to the Board of Education. However, the decisions it makes will not be easy. "It's difficult because people's opinions are all over the place. Some people think we should remain the way we are, and other people think our security should be tighter, so our job as a team is to evaluate all that information," Mr. Griffin explained.

One of the measures that teachers and students alike support is locking most of the entrances during the day and leaving only a few main doors open, such as the ones on Brewster and Post Roads. This plan includes locking doors by a certain time each day; For example, doors could be locked after second period, as homeroom occurs between second and third periods. Guests and visitors would have to enter through one of two main doors on Brewster or Post and obtain guest passes from the office. This plan would most likely utilize a system of "greeters," who would stand by these doors to monitor who enters the building and issue visitor passes. "I think it's very important that we watch who's coming into the building," commented Biology teacher Margret Siegrist. While some find this plan unnecessary and feel that it would interfere with the welcoming environment of the school, senior Phil Meyers argued: "It's not a perfect system, but it's better than what we have now." Visitor passes would make it important for teachers, administrators and staff to wear their identification badges so they can be easily identified as employees. "People often assume that the random adults they see walking in the hallways are teachers or parents," noted Charlie Blatt, a junior. Identification badges and visitor passes would help prevent such confusion.

Food deliveries pose additional problems. Some students order pizza or meals from Buon Amici or Nonni's, to be delivered to the school between periods three and six. Although these deliveries do not appear to be a security threat, they do allow people who are neither students nor faculty the freedom to access the campus. "We have to be very careful about deliveries coming to the cafeteria, and who's coming to deliver them. They should have one of the cafeteria aids over by the door so students don't directly come in contact with who is there," suggested Ms. Siegrist. Many students agreed that taking away this privilege would upset them and do more harm than good.

Another thought is to lock all the doors and issue swipe cards to both teachers and students.  This plan would involve each teacher, or possibly each student, being given a swipe or key card to carry with them in order to enter the building through any door. However, this idea doesn't seem to be at the top of administration's checklist because it probably would not have a strong effect. It is especially not a priority for students, who could abuse the privilege of having constant access to the school. "It is something that is definitely being considered...[but] I wouldn't expect us to issue student swipe cards within the next couple of weeks," Mr. Griffin explained.

There is also debate regarding SHS' open campus policy, which allows juniors and seniors to leave campus during free periods at any time during the day. This policy distinguishes the high school's security system from those of the other six schools in the district. Few students agree with getting rid of the open campus policy. As Charlie Blatt put it: "Removing the open campus policy would be an unnecessary restriction that would make students sad." French teacher Sandra Chan agreed and said, "I don't think that goes along with the spirit of the school."

When asked, many students said that they feel safe at Scarsdale High School. Junior Solange Azor, next year's Senior Class President, articulated a common thought: "I have never felt vulnerable or like I'm in any immediate danger." Freshman Samara Jacobson agreed, adding: "The chances of something happening in Scarsdale are very small because events like this don't occur often, and Scarsdale is generally a very safe area." Some, including freshman Sarah Bowen, feel that "all of the safety measures we have in school are enough." While Charlie Blatt agrees with locking doors and issuing visitors passes, she added, "any other restrictive measures are just fear mongering."

However, not everyone feels this way, especially after the shootings at Sandy Hook. "I didn't feel unsafe here until after Sandy Hook. And I think that at the Middle School it was a different situation because the kids were younger and we didn't have an open campus," observed Sandra Chan. English teacher George Olivier said that events like Sandy Hook "wake people up and remind them. When Columbine happened, people woke up and we put security cameras in the building. It makes people realize, 'Oh yeah, that's right, that's a good measure.'"

The task of deciding what measures should be taken is very difficult. "I think the administration/district should try to come up with a middle ground solution that appeases everyone," suggested Solange Azor.

Despite differences in opinion on how to make the school more secure, Assistant Principal Griffin spoke for everyone when he said, "What happened at Newtown is inexplicable, horrific, and tragic." To that end, the administration and the community are working together to find an agreeable solution and once it is implemented, we hope all SHS students will cooperate.

This article was contributed by SHS students Marie Ceske and Carly Glickenhaus