Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School student Jacoby Ohlinger gathers perspectives from classmates on whether metal detectors make schools safer or create new challenges for students.

Throughout recent years, we have heard more about metal detectors being implemented. This is a solution seen in many districts across the country to target the rising issue of school shootings and violence within the school system. Advocates argue that it provides protection, but critics contend that it delays students and fosters mistrust. 

As more schools start to implement this level of security, it starts to find its way into schools throughout Richmond County. It leaves students nationwide wondering if their school will be next. It also has students and parents questioning whether this form of security is truly worth the delays it causes. 

Joy Lariscey, a senior at Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School, was asked if the added security would change her view on coming to school every morning. 

“Not really, because I know I do what I need to do and I don’t have anything that could harm somebody else,” she said. 

Lariscey also said that she does not feel this security would slow down mornings as long as everybody does what they are supposed to do and follows the rules. 

School system safety has quickly become a major national issue. As of right now, there have been 232 school shootings since 2018. This is talked about with mixed opinions from students all over the country, as debates continue over whether metal detectors are a good solution or not. Although RCTCM does not have this security layer yet, students here are still very much a part of the discussion. 

Zavier Ewing, a junior at RCTCM, said he thinks other schools that have a history of misconduct should have security, but he feels strongly that RCTCM is not a place where they belong because, as a school, there are not many negative conflicts.

Zavier’s voice adds to the debate many students nationwide are having: that schools should be judged individually, rather than adding that level of security to every school. 

So far, the students interviewed have both agreed on one thing: that at RCTCM, metal detectors are not needed. At the same time, you still look at the number of shootings and violence throughout the nation. 

A report out of the WestEd Justice and Prevention Research Center states that, as of 2017, New York schools reported that of the weapons confiscated in a single school year, 57% were found without a scanning device. This study, although conducted in New York, shows that metal detectors are not doing as much work as one might think when it comes to keeping us safe. 

RCTCM junior, Elijah Landrum, shared his first thoughts on metal detectors in schools.

“It’s a bit sad because obviously there are problems that cause people to need metal detectors.” he said.

He went further, saying it’s not something that, as a society, we should have to implement, but if we need to as a safety measure, then so be it. 

Although they are not wanted by everyone, metal detectors are becoming a normal occurrence in multiple schools. 

The only questions left standing are how far this new wave of security will go and how it will continue to shape the future of students walking through the doors of every school in the nation.