ID Policy Controversy

Forgot your ID? Walk around the school to get a new one. All actions have consequences, but is the Crete Monee policy for ID’s to much? Students as a whole hate this policy, and there are many reasons as to why. “I feel like we shouldn't have to do that because...who wants to walk around the whole school? I bet if the teachers had to do that, they wouldn't like that either.” Sandy Gonzalez, a junior, complained. When it came to what they would do in weather, students are even more angry about the Walk Around policy. “What if you have to walk around when it's all raining? Nobody wants to do that. Who wants to do that?” Gonzalez complained. “It's cold as hell in the winter.” Melissa Sanchez, another junior, commented. “It's freezing. I don't stand for it, it needs to be fixed.” Most students even go as far to say that it is cruel and abusive to make them walk around the school. With the weather constantly changing in the Midwest, students are at risk for getting sick and even getting injured from slipping and falling on the concrete with ice covering it in the winter time. Some students even go as far to call it abusive for having such a cruel punishment for such a simple mistake. “We don't purposely leave out ID’s at home, sometimes we just forget and it gets left behind.” Gonzalez admitted. Students aren't just complaining, they are willing to help make a change in the school, so it can be a compromise between both students and administrators. “I feel like they should have security by the doors so they can walk the students inside the school and take them to the guidance office so they can get a new ID.” Sanchez offered up an idea. “Not outside. It’s to dangerous.” When asking teachers about this issue, they said it's a natural part of life for the responsibility of having to carry ID’s for school and future work. “I think students need ID’s, it's a safety issue. I think it's a way to make kids remember to bring their ID’s, so walking isn't the end of the world, but safety is.” Said Daniel Higgins, a P.E. teacher at Crete Monee.

When asked about when students need to do in the winter months, Higgins said that students should be prepared and dress appropriately and continued to add, “I have to bring my ID to school, I have to have my driver’s license. It's part of being an adult.” Teachers also feel that students should not be concerned with the policy and should be preparing for life after high school when they need to have essentials for life after high school. The Walk Around policy may never change but the students of Crete Monee will always fight against and hope for change in the near future.