Last week, teachers and staff strictly enforced students to wear their ID cards. Students are required to wear them visibly at all times, and those not wearing their IDs will be “swept” and sent to the office. Many students still refuse to wear their lanyards and have looked for ways around wearing them. Yet, complaining won’t bring about change. Choosing not to wear it will only be a nuisance to yourself.

At orientation, each student signed an agreement indicating they will comply with administrative rules. This holds students accountable for wearing their IDs every day. Whether you like this new rule or not, you agreed to it.

Student handbooks state that the first offense for not wearing your ID is a “warning and documentation in AERIES.” After the second offense, students must buy a new ID card, and if you are unable to purchase one at the time given, a fine will be documented in your student account. If students don’t pay the fine, it could affect their graduation status. A $5 fine each time you misplace, forget, or don’t wear your ID can add up quickly.

There are no other offenses mentioned; however, it does say that, “progressive discipline will follow which may include lunch detention and/or Saturday School.” The repercussions for not wearing your ID are too extensive to not comply.

Is not wearing your lanyard really worth missing class (especially right before finals), getting a warning, buying a new one, or other consequences? It should not be that big of a deal. It’s a plastic card attached to fabric that you have to wear around your neck, not a stone slab you have to tug around.

An alternative would be converting to a closed campus. Gates would surround our school to ensure our students on campus belong here, and so intruders will be unable to walk on. Not only does this cost too much, but it also would take too long. Plus, students wouldn’t be able to go off-campus for lunch and I for one love our close proximity to restaurants. Do you really want your privilege of going to lunch wherever you please, getting a cheesy pizza to keep your stomach quiet, or coffee to boost your energy because students refused to wear a piece of plastic around their necks?

Another alternative would be to implement a dress code, similar to a private school. This would allow staff and administrators to differentiate people who should and should not be on campus easily. This would also completely eliminate student’s freedom of expression through stylistic choices. In this case, a dress code would only make matters worse. There are alternatives to wearing our IDs, but they are too costly and immense to implement effectively.

Do teachers enjoy nagging students to wear them? Surely, they have other things they can do with that time. Not wearing your lanyard keeps everyone from getting to the essence of why students are at school. Prepare for finals instead. Get that B+ in English to an A. Understand how to solve the quadratic formula. Don’t make things more complicated than they need to be.

And you have to understand the administration’s perspective. In addition to maintaining educational standards, school officials have to worry about the safety of their students. They’ve seen the news. They’ve heard the tragedies brought to university campuses. I can’t imagine, personally, how responsible I would feel if anything happened on campus, knowing I could have done more. Lanyards will help keep everyone safe.

Now hear me out, I don’t look forward to putting my lanyard on each morning and I would much rather disregard the entire ID rule; however, administration has not hinted to any intention of changing the rules, so it’s easier to just wear my ID rather than face disciplinary results.  I wear my ID to ensure the day runs smoothly, for administration and myself. You should too.