Metal Detectors by Genesis M.

Metal detectors have been becoming more common in New York City high schools over the years & as annoying as it may be, I think it is a good idea to have them. Yes it may be a long process but it is for the safety of the students and staff. Metal detectors stop people from bringing in weapons which can prevent many crimes inside of the high school campuses. The main reason to have metal detectors in high schools is to decrease the amount of crimes within the schools. Metal detectors can prevent school shootings that have occurred over the years such as the Columbine high school massacre in 1999 which resulted in 15 dead, and many injured. I think people should stop complaining about metal detectors because in the end of the day they are just there for our protection, and besides we all get use to them anyway. I would rather wait on a line for a few minutes and walk through the metal detectors than to not have them and have someone come with a weapon and shoot up the school.

Metal Detectors in Schools by Genesis E.

Metal detectors are made for our safety and I understand that 100percent. But that shouldn’t stop us from bringing in our phones, ipods and our freedom. My school in Bronx,NY is one that has metal detectors in it but they don’t allow us to bring in our phones. I can see why they wouldn't want us to because we could get distracted and such , but what happeneds if the student is in a perdicament in which he or she could get hurt after school, they have no type of way to get in contact with anybody because we are not allowed to have our phones on us. On top of that most security guards are rude and demand respect when they don’t give it back. It has basically become a jail. This issue is important to me because it is unfair that students feel like they are trapped in a jail because Lehman is also a school with a lot of students so we feel cramped and alot of more students get into conflicts. I completely understand that metal detectors are to
protect us and they have but it is aslo increasing the violence in my school and mostly afterschool because the students are helpless and have no idea what could happen .

Why are illegal immigrants sent back to their country? by Alberto C.

I believe immigrants built and build America , so therefore they should have all rights to stay. If they are employed and want to start a new life for himself/herself or to work to support their family back at home in their country. They should be able to live here without the government deporting them because it shows in history that immigrants help build America and made it what it is now. Immigrants built railroads and work in factories today. They should be able to attend schools. The big picture of this is that we didn’t build America alone; we had help from immigrants all around the world. They struggle for a country that’s not even theirs and made it their home. Seriously, they need credit for help building a strong and stable country. As President J.F.K argued, “every American who ever lived, with the exception of one group, was either an immigrant himself or a descendant of immigrants."

Metal Detectors: Privacy by Blanca B.

One thing that gets under my skin is having metal detectors in school. I understand we can’t have Ds’s, iPods, mp3s...Etc. However, you need phones because what if there’s an emergency and the staff doesn’t come in time, what then. There can be emergency in the class room and maybe there no phone in the room, and the student or teacher could be in danger and there no communication in the room. This happened last year and we had a kid in class that had phone and called 911. The staff didn’t come to the room under five minutes. It took them like 15minutes. If we stood there and we let the staff take over, my class mates could have be in serious trouble. Having a phone is important to have in school just in case we really have an emergency, especially if the school doesn’t have good security.

One con about Metal detectors is privacy. I think that’s a major issue that we have with metal detectors. There often set up at the main student entrance to a school that has implemented security measures. Especially in large schools, stopping at a metal detector, emptying pockets and allowing backpacks to be searched may lead to students being late for classes. Metal detectors may become an inconvenience to the students, parents and even the school faculty. Furthermore, it is controversial because searching students', teachers' and parents' belongings is a possible invasion of privacy.