Once You Leave the Schutz Gates, Returning is Not an Option!
By Farah Kashwa
We started the year receiving a bomb threat, and we can witness all around campus the changes made to make our school a more secure and safer place to be. One of the steps taken to improve our school’s safety and security, however not the main reason, is not allowing students back in when they leave campus. Even though implementing such a rule may be in the best interest of the students, the students should have an easier way of leaving and re-entering campus.
Schutz is located in the neighborhood of Bakous, which is one of the poorest neighborhoods in Alexandria. When students step outside the Schutz gates, they stand out. The student’s choice of attire is different from the clothes of the inhabitants of the neighborhood, and they attract attention from the people walking in the streets. Several people verbally harass Schutz students simply because of their appearance. Wouldn’t staying in school be safer for the student?
A student forgets their cell phone, no friend is around to lend them theirs, and they need to find their drivers. How can they check for their drivers through the thick black door? Obviously, they have to step outside to look for their driver, but students, think again! The new rule does not allow them to return to school.
Recently, a group of girls, who had basketball practice after school, stepped outside to buy something from the little store outside school. When they came back inside, they were approached by Mr. Walsh and were asked to leave school immediately.
Another incident took place when another girl, not aware of this rule, stepped outside the gates to talk briefly to her driver and then was told that she had detention. However, Mr. Walsh kindly only invited her for a small talk about the incident and warned her to not repeat it again.
When Mr. Walsh was asked about the matter and the reasons why the school has this rule, he had a lot of reasonable things to say. He said that the main reason for this rule’s existence is to keep the students safe. The parents drop-off their children to school, and they believe that Schutz will keep them safe. If the administration has no control over when the students leave campus and come back in, a student can easily get lost or the school will have no idea of the whereabouts of the student. If, God forbid, anything bad ever happened to a student, the school needs to know is on campus and who is not.
Mr. Walsh also clarified that if there is an emergency and the student needs to contact their driver, for example, they can take permission from him first or use his cell phone to contact the driver. He said that this rule has always existed but just not enforced before.
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