School is supposed to be a safe place for people to send their children to learn, but in recent years, it has become especially dangerous. A once safe place has turned into something to fear.

Many schools have started to use metal detectors in order to bring back some of the safety schools used to have. This year, Carbondale Community High School has joined and installed their own metal detectors.

While I understand why they were being used, I can’t help but believe they are ineffective. 

Students must now empty their backpacks as they walk into the school, which, in the morning when everyone is coming, can become crowded and time consuming. I myself have spent a considerable amount of time waiting in line to be able to get into the school, on a number of occasions it has made me and others I know late to our first hour class.

Tara Singleton, a fellow senior at CCHS, has a similar opinion, “They are time consuming and make people late.”

I understand the need for them, but I can’t help but think we could be doing a better job using them. However, they’ve only just been installed and they are still new to us. In years to come, if they stay, things will become better.

But, for now, I find myself frustrated. There will be times when I am on time to school but end up being late. Because of this I’ve gotten more tardies this semester than I have in the past four years.

I wish they had a better system in place to help students avoid the tardies they receive, like a pass or something of that nature. The only suggestion they have given is for students to arrive earlier, but not all students have that option. Some students don’t have the ability to arrive any earlier than they already do.

I for one get a ride to school and sometimes my nephews have to be dropped off aswell. Meaning I will get to school just before the bell rings. This however wasn’t much of a problem for me. I still had time to get to school quickly, get breakfast, and walk to class. Now I never have time to get breakfast and find myself starving until lunch.

Now while I do have my complaints like I stated before I understand why they have been installed, but from the way we are using them I don’t see much of a point.

The way we use them is by handing over the items pulled from our bags, walking through the detectors, and then getting our items back. I know we are using them to avoid someone bringing in a weapon, but I can find many possible ways to still do it. But like I said before the system is still new and hopefully will progress into something better in years to come.