Administration informed students on August 24 that they would be required to wear their student identification badges (I.D’s) this school year, as a way to increase security as well as help identify the student body in various ways.

Students can put their I.D.’s on a lanyard or put them on their front belt loops. Students may not keep their I.D.’s in their wallets, attached to their backpacks, or inside their pockets. They must be visible to faculty and staff for identification purposes.

Principal Heather Venne said, “It was a full KD administrative decision” based on recommendations from the Pennsylvania State Police and a Safe Schools conference the administrators attended two years ago.

While the initiative is new here, it is not a new concept to Venne. She has worked in other schools within the area that enforce the use of student I.D.’s.

One of the many reasons for enforcing I.D.’s is for protecting the school in various emergency situations such as an intruder or an evacuation. They can also be helpful for attendance purposes and for substitutes in the building who may not know many students.

Spanish teacher Karen Snyder said, “The I.D.’s/lanyards serve as a precautionary measure; in case of emergency, the victims and culprits can be identified.”

Teachers readily understood the purpose of the I.D. system, often citing safety and security measures; in addition, students also recognize the purpose of them.

Junior Cole Sinnott said, “I am for the I.D.’s because they help keep the school safe.”

Sophomore Logan Zink also said, “I am for them. They don’t really hinder anything. Also, they are nice for getting food from the bistro and cafeteria faster”. Senior Matthew Zachary also likes that about student IDs.

Many like the ease with which an I.D. could be used for other parts of the school day. Science teacher Ryan Rupp said, “ The I.D.’s could also be used as flex spending cards for the cafeteria and bistro.” Another student even suggested this could be used as a form of attendance in each class.

While some students like the idea and envision the possibilities for the future, there are others who don’t believe in the system. Senior Alexander Myers and junior Justine Sommer felt that having students wear IDs wasn’t necessary. Sommer also stated, “I do not recall it being in the student handbook that we have to wear IDs”.

Most students seem to dislike the I.D. requirement for the same reasons senior Dalton Stike stated: “The rule of wearing I.D.’s reduces individuality and infringes on the student’s right to freely express themselves and dress in the way they so choose.”

As Senior David Drake pointed out, other concerns are the fact that the temporary badges could so easily be replicated or damaged.

Rupp also stated, another potential concern is that badges can “get caught on things in the room or on other students in the hallway”, to which he suggested that breakaway lanyards would be best for students that choose to wear lanyards.