Starting tomorrow morning, students entering the high school will be subject to bag checks and metal detection by wand.
Principal Eric Juli announced the heightened security measures for the high school in an email sent to students this evening following the latest in a series of violent incidents that began Friday after school.
Juli encouraged students to not use backpacks when possible to expedite entry. “We expect delays for students entering the building,” he said in the email.
The measures were announced after an incident occurred during dismissal today. “This afternoon, Shaker Heights High School administrators attempted to assist a student in crisis just before dismissal. When outside the building with administrators and security, the student produced a knife and was restrained,” Juli’s message stated. “Shaker Heights High School administrators contacted the Shaker Heights Police Department and the student is being charged and released into family custody.”
After school Sept. 13, a fight outside the high school involving three former Shaker students led to six current students being suspended with a recommendation for expulsion. “We have already pressed charges against the non-students,” Juli said in an interview.
Later that Friday, during the football game vs. Euclid High School at Russell H. Rupp Field, a tip led police to search and arrest an SHHS student who was carrying a gun and attempting to enter. Another former student was caught with a knife after turning away from the entry point, where metal detecting wands were in use.
Students expressed concerns about the new measures. “I think the administration at Shaker has been extremely reactive throughout my time here at the high school. I think it’s time that something changes and we start being proactive about security and safety for all students,” senior Josephine Rich said. “Putting a Band-Aid over the security issues that our school continues to face does not erase them or prevent any more from happening, as we keep seeing.”
Junior Alec Turturici expressed concern about the backpack recommendation. “The idea of not bringing a backpack to school is a no-go for me. The amount of things we have to bring to school every day makes it essentially impossible to not have some sort of thing to carry all of it, and a backpack is just the most convenient,” he said.
Junior Sumaya Osman said that the changes do not account for all students’ situations. “I feel like the school is constantly giving superficial solutions. You can’t expect people to carry all their things while walking or biking at a school with no transport and get to class on time on top of it all,” she said. “It completely ignores the root issue.”
Freshman Anna Kaminski said that she feels punished for the actions of others. “I feel as though the students that attend Shaker for the purposes of learning, socializing and improving themselves should not have to be subject to the repercussions of other students’ actions. This system could make students feel uncomfortable or violated, and the staff at Shaker Heights High Schools should address the problem at the source, instead of inconveniencing innocent students,” she said.
Some students reacted positively to the new measures, but with concern over how they will work in practice. “I’m rather happy that a response is being crafted. Obviously, it’s inconvenient and will drastically slow down the already drawn-out entry process, but hopefully it will be effective,” senior Coleman Lauritsen said. “People are gonna complain, but I think any measure that stops the number of weapons that keep getting brought to school is a good idea.”
Treasure Vinson, a junior, noted the frequency of incidents at the high school and her appreciation for this action. “At first I was a bit exhausted by his email because it’s like every other day it’s something going on at the main campus, and these cell phone rules were supposed to rebuke that, which I never thought they were going to, anyways,” Vinson said. “But honestly, it’s about time they started implementing metal detectors because how else are you supposed to know if someone has a firearm with the amount of school shootings that goes on in America? How am I supposed to feel safe?”
Junior Juliette Meckes said she does not oppose the changes and recognizes why they are needed. “I just hope they have some kind of plan to actually get people in the building in a reasonable amount of time,” she said.
Junior Kyle Szalay said that the school needs to address the root cause of the problem. “I think the school needs to figure out not how to stop kids from sneaking in knives, but how to stop kids from wanting to do that. It’s a culture problem,” he said.
Shay Malone, a junior, said that it’s sad that people are coming to school with weapons despite the district’s many programs and opportunities. “I’m hosting a German exchange student right now, and he was shocked when I showed him the email and he said that nothing like this had ever happened at his school,” Malone said.
Parent Jonathan Sadowsky expressed conflicting feelings about Juli’s message. “On the one hand, the school needs to create a safe environment, and sometimes steps need to be taken to do that that might be unpopular,” he said. “On the other hand, the whole thing might seem less intrusive if they already didn’t have this heavy-handed cell phone policy in place.”
Those interviewed often acknowledged the regrettable need for heightened security.
“It’s highkey scary, but you know we wanna be safe. I hope that person is OK and receives the help they need,” freshman Reine Hinton said.
Junior Nya Clark questioned how long it will take to make the high school safe enough. “I as a student shouldn’t feel like I need a way out of school every time someone walks through the door,” she said
“I think that in light of recent events, I understand why they feel the need for bag checks and wanding,” said Katherine Ekeberg, parent of a freshman. “I do hope that they are also looking for the root causes instead of just trying to react to the events.”
Parent Paula Barker said, “It’s a sad reality. I guess it’s a billion times better than crying because something happened.”
Shakerite editors Olivia Cavallo, Eamonn Furey and Alison Teeter and Journalism I students Emma Barker, Bridget Barragate, Nyla Jamison, Zoe Griest and Varnika Takhi contributed reporting.
Katherine Rogerson | Sep 19, 2024 at 7:40 am
Extremely well thought out and written.
Students’ comments show how sad it is in todays’ society when students have fears about going to school safely. I am old but remember how excited I was to enter school each morning. It is up to us adults to reach out to others to raise our country up! Enough negativity and unacceptable attitudes toward people who are different from us!