District Policy - Book Bags

Alright, so lets see some pros and cons on the subject, I will edit this first post I am making to better fit the general view of the forum. People, please get some cons in too, I wouldn't like to see all pros.


Pros:

• Easier to carry materials between classes.
  
• Can carry more materials at once.
  
• No need to stop at locker while holding bag
  
• Student privacy to materials
  

Cons:

• Harder to rummage through materials during class.
  
• Could easily hide illegal materials.
  
• Unsearchable without a warrant.
  

I'm assuming Pros would be reasons to allow backpacks in school, while Cons would be reasons to keep the current ban.

Pros:
easier to carry materials between classes
can carry more materials at once, eliminating several stops at locker

Cons:
harder to rummage around for materials during classes
could easily hide illegal materials, as backpacks are your own property and are therefore unsearchable without a warrant.

There's a start. =)

Pros:

• Much easier to carry books around.
  
• No need to worry about stopping at your locker.
  
• Student privacy to own materials.
  

Cons:

• Need a warrant to search. Makes difficulty for faculty and staff if drug checks are in order.
  

I think the matter on backpacks are basically sold. I mean really, not having a backpack sucks. The original reason students werent' aloud to carry bookbags around was because of the Columbine Shooting. If the students wanted to bring drugs, they can. If students wanted to bring guns, the could. They could do all that -without- the use of a backpack though. Backpacks are not a necessity or a weapon for trouble. If I were the school district and I found out that someone brought a weapon to school with the intention to use it for whatever means, I would put a ban on them forever. They fail school - they are kicked out. No exceptions, not even self defence. Period. Anyways, I hear the issue on backpacks are going to be solved next year. Apparently the school district is changing the policies. Ever since girls started bringing large Abercrombie bags and putting their books in them, it forged a loophole in the system. Just one more semester and a summer to go and I'm pretty sure we're set. Other than drug checks, which the school never has for lockers anyways. I don't see any negatives to having a backpack with you. Collegiate allows it and so does many other schools.

That's a good point about girls bags,
Anything that can fit in a backback can fit in one of those,
Thus making the backpack rule outdated and uneccessary.

I actually think that police can search your crap because you are on school grounds and you are using the school's material, which the school gives the police permission (rarely) to the school with dogs. It hasn't happened in two years, and when they did search, it was a 1 time event, quite sad. If a dog sniffs you, and does something bad, then you're in trouble. Is there an issue with back-packs because people can hide weapons in them? Absolutely not. The school isn't doing their job by asking the police to search people.

Besides, it is plenty easy to store something in your locker and ask for a pass to go there. Its ridiculous when it is only like 50 feet from you and all you need to do is ask for a pass. Any kind of stored item can be retrieved.

Well they are allowed to search you,
But the key words to allow those searches are "probable cause"
Because if they search you without it,
You can sue if they don't have it,
And have anything they find pardoned for illegal search and seizure.

My take on the Admin's reasoning for the book bag ban verses no ban on the girl bags stems from Columbine, and generally every school shooting. Not to say that it could never happen, but girls generally don't shoot people at school. Its always been a male, and therefore, the Admin is forever suspicious of men carrying bags.
Not that the rule is actually enforced at the high school.

crowdXwar wrote:

My take on the Admin's reasoning for the book bag ban verses no ban on the girl bags stems from Columbine, and generally every school shooting. Not to say that it could never happen, but girls generally don't shoot people at school. Its always been a male, and therefore, the Admin is forever suspicious of men carrying bags.
Not that the rule is actually enforced at the high school.

It's not really enforced at MIHS anymore either,
I carry a bookbag to all my classes in both schools.
But the fact that it is still a rule means that they could enforce it,
Which is why the rule shouldn't even be in existince.

Yah, I carry a bookbag to all my classes at both buildings (with the exception of some A-Day classes, because I have gym 1st block, and the following two classes are both in the same commons), and not once have I ever had anyone say anything to me about it. It makes things a long more convenient - I don't have make locker runs across the building that always end up with me just barely making it to class in time. I'd be in favor of doing away with a book bag rule.