Detentions given out for forgotten ID cards

 

CVHS gave out 98 detentions to students checking out books without their student IDs on Nov. 12. This has seemed to raise awareness of the problems caused by students not having their student IDs in their possession, as well as question what punishment (if any) is appropriate for these forgetful students.

Even though these detentions were distributed, no students were obligated to serve them. If students brought their IDs in the following days their detentions were dismissed.

“The students couldn’t serve the detentions without their IDs regardless. So it was meant strictly as a fix-it ticket,” said Darrin Vanderpan, an instructional assistant.

This is not the first time that detentions have been given out for students not possessing their IDs. It is not school policy to receive a detention for this offense, however it is possible for it to become one in the future.

When students lack their student IDs during book checkouts, it can become very tiresome and stressful on the staff that has to perform these checkouts, not to mention the problems not having your student ID in your possession can cause.

Sue Hale, who works the bookroom, struggles with students forgetting their IDs every day.

“It gets very frustrating. It just takes a lot longer and I have to enter things in manually and it just makes a lot of room for error because I am only human. I wish the kids would remember their IDs because the amount of kids that forget is ridiculous. Ninety-eight [students who forgot their IDs] is nothing compared to what I have to deal with when checking out English books. And there are always those repeat offenders too,” stated Hale.

Students forgetting their IDs directly make Hale’s job substantially harder. However, Hale is against the detentions, and hopes that a new school policy concerning student IDs and detentions will not be put into action.

“I don’t think detentions are going to stop these kids from forgetting their IDs, it’s a responsibility thing, not a rebellious thing. Maybe positive rewards would work better than punishments,” stated Hale.

Hale also brought up some very interesting reasons as to why student IDs are so important.  She explained that for most students, student IDs are the first form of personal identification that a person is responsible for, therefore having it on hand is good practice for the real world. She also stated that student IDs are important when concerning safety, especially during fire drills or lockdowns, because they are valid proof of who you are and can benefit you in sticky situations. Also having your ID speeds up the process of checking out books and creates less errors in the school system.

J.C. Farr, the House One assistant principal, commented on the detentions.

“It’s more of a fix-it ticket rather than a punishment. We are just aiming to stress the importance of having your ID on you at all times,” said Farr.

When asked if administration was considering making it a school policy Farr stated, “We haven’t discussed the long term yet.”