Security steps provide needed safety, yet warrant reserved use

Our View

The high school is poised to receive a $31,000 grant for security improvement, and students can expect major changes to security. Among the changes are increases in updated security cameras connected to a central monitoring system and a new door entry system accessed electronically with cards.

These changes to security will bring obvious benefits. The money allows not only for updates to the now outdated technology of the current security cameras, but it also provides more of them. No longer will there be any areas in the school not under security camera surveillance that should be. Also, we believe that the new door entry system is another positive as doors will no longer be left unlocked during the day and will only be able to be accessed by those who should enter. Teachers and janitors will also not need to worry about misplacing expensive and cumbersome keys.

However, although the changes to security have obvious benefits, we believe there is also a potential downside. As of now, the security changes are welcome and do not seem overly imposing, but we worry that they may lead to increased security measures. Students at Cedar Falls High School are relatively fortunate concerning their freedom compared with students at other high schools across the country where some students need to cross through metal detectors just to get to class, and we feel that the new security changes in no way threaten students freedom. Nevertheless, concerns about security may sometimes send the wrong message: the message that students are expected to commit wrongs that call for being monitored.

Student security is obviously important, and we feel that new security changes brought by the grant money will only help to better protect students without overly imposing on their lives. However, we would like to caution against too strict of security measures as they send a negative message to students concerning their behavior.