Reinforcement of School Policies

After the new year, administrators at John. A Ferguson began to enforce rules regarding attire, such as wearing IDs and adequate uniform during school hours. However, questions such as “Why is it important to wear an ID?” or “Why must we wear specific pants?” are still asked by various students. Although many of them may argue that it is not essentially useful, a plethora of assistant principals and teachers believe they make a grand difference.

Mr. Brenlla, the Dean of Students, says that it is imperative for students to wear the proper IDs and uniform attire. He believes that the primary use of IDs and uniforms are for security reasons and to identify trespassers on campus. Unlike staff, who are well-known throughout school, students are not easily identified in a 4,000 student school. Even substitute teachers, who are not on the premises as often as regular staff, have always been required to wear IDs. Brenlla believes that “IDs are an important added step to the uniform policy, as in today’s day and age we must be able to easily know the identities of everyone who steps onto campus.”

However, he admits that it is “human nature to pull back a little and start focusing on education and pep rallies and other events happening in the school,” rather than wearing an ID. As a result, some students may start slacking off on attire policies, which is why even halfway through the school year, the administration has to refocus and enforce rules that should be “followed automatically”. Regardless of many students disregarding these rules, violations result in a direct punishment, which can include detentions and Saturday school.

Briana Gonzalez, a freshman, believes that IDs and wearing a uniform are not really much of an inconvenience. Due to the fact that the lanyards and IDs are very lightweight and comfortable to wear, she thinks that at the end of the day, it does not hurt to wear them to ease the process of identifying students. “In a way, I think it’s kind of appropriate because in today’s society you see that there are a lot of issues, especially with people coming into and out of the school without authorization”, Briana adds.

However, she admits that although it would not directly counteract an aggressor, it would be a useful strategy to implement in order to reduce the number of students roaming the school’s hallways without permission. It would be efficient to reprimand individuals who claim they are running an errand or even a post-graduate that is in the school without signing in.

“Our school should not only rely on what uniform or IDs we wear for security, but it’s still good as an added measure in my opinion, ” says another student, Claudette Artiles, who has a neutral stance regarding common attire policies. She believes it would be more comfortable and cost-effective to wear clothes from home, rather than having to spend money on buying clothes only used for school. However, due to the fact that Ferguson is a heavily populated school, she also admits that a stronger foundation for rules is required.

In order to secure the safety of individuals in the academic environment, reinforcing policies, such as wearing the correct uniforms and IDs contribute to toning down the chaos. Administrators also constantly strive to improve disciplinary measure, since, at the end of the day, these rules are primarily created in the best interest of our school’s inhabitants.