The Measures that Keep Neuqua Safe
January 29, 2010
Neuqua Valley has already experienced both security breaches, the Naked Man incident to name one, as well as the efforts the district makes to ensure student safety. However, the biggest danger is not simply the threat of an unauthorized individual breaking in, but the students who unknowingly let them in.
With security surveillance throughout the halls and deans’ assistants, along with the watchful eyes of the faculty and staff, many students think that the security measures are unnecessarily tight. What students disregard, however, is that they can become a potential threat’s biggest asset. Most obvious are the doors located in Neuqua’s cafeteria that lead out to the courtyard towards Lake Birkett. Whenever someone is seen struggling to get in because the doors are locked, students, in a gesture of kindness, will get up to let them in. Whether it is another student or a seemingly harmless adult, students should not be opening doors for anyone.
“It’s the most dangerous thing you could do,” said Dr. Bob McBride. “We have a pretty solid building opening and closing protocol. There are certain times of the day that all the doors are open…but we lock those doors up in the morning and in the evening pretty quickly. The only door that should be open, both at gold and main, is the main entrance.”
The faculty stationed at doors and along hallways all serve this purpose. With the custodial staff, they dutifully check to make sure doors are locked and anyone unauthorized will have to come in through the main doors, sign in, and receive a badge. But when students begin opening doors for everyone they see, the security measures that Neuqua has carefully placed go out the window.
“A lot of times, I’ll be fumbling coming from a meeting, and very well-meaning, nice students will see me, and they’ll let me in. The first question I ask them is if they know who I am,” said McBride, “Any adult that’s trying to come in through the [locked] doors, should have keys. So really, students shouldn’t be opening doors.”
And the door safety issue is not just placed on the matter of opening them, but when students leave during the day as well. Although most students should be exiting through the main entrance, many leave through the back doors at the end of the halls where there are no adults to monitor them.
“Students should not be leaving from unmonitored doorways. It’s not so much the walking out, but who could be waiting out there,” added McBride, “It’s something we need to educate everyone about.”
Hong-Ah Do, Neuqua Media and Front Page Editor
