With the one year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting approaching, school districts across the country have taken the initiative to reevaluate and improve their security plans.

Daniel Pearl Magnet High School (DPMHS) has implemented new security procedures and policies to ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff. Even though they are made for our protection, some of these changes might have a negative impact on the students.

For example, only one or two male and female bathrooms are open throughout the day, which causes long lines. Some students have even been late to class because the wait is so long.

The reason behind closing the bath- rooms is the lack of supervision, but the closures deprive students of a basic human need. Recently, the school has opened more bathrooms to satisfy the needs of all the students who need to use the bathroom.

Another policy that began this year is that campus doors are unlocked at 7:30 a.m. and locked around 4 p.m. when the Principal Deb Smith or Diane Seiger leave. In the morning, some students are dropped off at school as early as 7 a.m, but because of the policy, students have to wait outside in the cold until the doors open. Even students who take the school bus either wait until someone unlocks the back gate or walk all the way around to the front of the school and wait.

After school, only students who are with teachers can stay inside their classroom and everyone else are required to leave. Students who can’t be picked up until 5 p.m. or later and especially during this time of year when it gets darker earlier, safety is a primary concern. It isn’t safer if students are outside the school doors unsupervised.

 The cause behind a lot of the new policies is the lack of supervision. Because DPMHS is such a small school, there isn’t any way for us to increase the number of staff, aides and administrators. The school could recruit more parent volunteers to provide an extra set of eyes. What we can do is work with what we’re given.

Some of these security policies are a little too restrictive and they impact the quality of the DPMHS experience. It’s apparent to the students that these policies aren’t making things safer. Maybe they can be revised and there can be a compromise between the students’ needs and the amount of security that is required.