The requirement for visible student IDs has become more enforced since the start of the spring semester, with teachers required to send students without IDs to Student Services. But the new rule has not been received well by much of the SFHS community. The questions people have been asking are, Will it keep us safer? and, Will it continue?

Security around the district is now increasing significantly. In previous years, visitors only had to wear temporary ID stickers to gain access to the school, but now, according to KOB News, “Soon, driver’s licenses will also be scanned and the visitor’s information will then be cross-referenced with the U.S. Justice Department’s National Sex Offender Public Registry.” This is another step to ensure student safety on campuses across the district.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican and KRQE News, there has been an increase in shooting threats in Santa Fe over the past five years. In November, three students were arrested when a shooting plan was found on the Santa Fe High campus, and an ECO student was arrested when he threatened Mr. Marano.

Of course, the school shooting in Aztec, New Mexico, which took the lives of two students, brought the whole issue closer to home. That shooting was caused by a security breach that allowed the intruder onto campus, posing as a student. Many theorize that if the school’s ID verification had been better enforced, the shooting may have been prevented.

About the new ID policy, Associate Principal Mr. Granado said, “I love it! We should always be teaching kids the value of identification. Most jobs in the workforce require proper identification. Teaching our kids now will make it easier when they need to wear proper ID every day.”

Secretary Karen Hare said, “The student ID policy should always be enforced. In the past they were relaxed about enforcing it…. This is important because this is our way of knowing everyone on this campus is authorized to be here.”

Brianna Garcia, a sophomore, said, “I think that the student ID thing will be carried out for the rest of the year, based off of all the school shootings that have happened this year.”

Freshman Jacob Gascon doesn’t believe the IDs are effective. “The likelihood of this policy preventing a school shooting at Santa Fe High is low. No matter the precautions we take, there is no guarantee. It seems easy to get onto campus with ease. The security guards don’t even really check. If I didn’t have my ID, I would be let in anyways. Teachers and security will forget about it!”

Not all teachers support the policy.

A teacher who chooses to remain anonymous said they do not enforce the ID policy. “I choose not to participate because it wastes a lot of learning time,” the teacher said.

Science teacher Ms. Seth offered a different perspective. “I am pretty neutral about it,” she said. “In this day in society, it’s a safety precaution.” She then mentioned that in many jobs, wearing IDs is part of security clearance.

Santa Fe High students have mixed opinions regarding wearing their IDs.

David Bixby said, “This is a ridiculous policy that teachers enforce too strictly. This really inhibits student life on campus.”

Dylan Tapia said, “They don’t really bother me. I don’t really care about them.”

Leo Stewart agreed: “The ID’s aren’t that big of a deal to me.”