With a new school year comes changes to OHS. When dealing with nearly two-thousand students in one building, certain policies are necessary to keep everyone safe and administration a step ahead. This year all personnel, including both students and staff, have to wear a school issued IDs during school hours.

 The new ID policy allows students to scan their ID to purchase lunches. Soon it will allow students to have library access and to not have to fill out a tardy slip. If a student is tardy for a class, a teacher will scan their ID so they can get to class faster. Also, students have the option of either using their own (school appropriate) lanyard, or a National Guard lanyard that was given to any student interested when they got their IDs made.

“It’s a move for efficiency,” said Mr. Steve King, Head of Guidance, and described wearing IDs as a way to “go paperless,” once they can scan IDs for tardies versus students filling out tardy slips.

Head Principal Jan Kellerman says that the main reason for wearing IDs is safety. She believes that if students and staff are identified quickly, then it will be easier to know who was in the building, and whether they were supposed to be.

“My biggest concern is the students’ safety.” she said, remembering the Newtown shooting that happened last December.

Penalties for breaking the policy have not been detailed yet, but there will definitely be a penalty of some kind. If a student forgets to wear their lanyard, then they must wear a bright orange sticker with their name and grade written on it. Similar to the tardy policy, the fifth time a student forgets their ID they will get a detention.

There are mixed feelings about wearing IDs. While some students find that wearing the ID is not a big deal, other claim that it’s “annoying and pointless.”

“I feel like it’ll make the school safer.” said Emma Bennett (12), who understands why the policy was put in place.

However, fellow student Kara Setari (11) is not a fan of the new policy. “We didn’t wear them before, why should we now?” she stated.

Whether students like it or not, the ID policy is here to stay.