Because of an increase in school shootings across the nation, communities have been brainstorming ways to make students feel safer at school.

“I feel like it’s hard for students to actually feel safe when they’re making too many new rules that don’t actually contribute to our safety,” junior Alexandra Rittenhouse said. 

One possible solution that’s being discussed is enforcing clear backpacks for next school year. Faculty members will meet April 24, after school to gather input on student backpacks. 

“Clear backpacks likely being required will be annoying,” Rittenhouse said. “But this is the most they’ve discussed to help me feel safer so far, so I guess I’ll take it.”

Though the idea has been suggested, a final decision on switching to clear backpacks would be district-wide and would likely require parent and school board input.

“It wouldn’t make me feel safer because it feels like an invasion of privacy,” junior Ashley Sievert said. “All of my personal items would be revealed even though I’m not hiding anything bad.”

It’s unknown if students would purchase their own clear backpacks or if they would be provided by the school. 

“They’re not sturdy or practical because most students have extracurricular activities that won’t fit in a clear backpack,” junior Kathy Cao said. 

Some feel clear backpacks will not address the real issues.  

Cao said, “Kids can easily buy things on Amazon to hide vapes and guns, and a clear backpack won’t stop this.”

Many facilities already require clear backpacks due to safety concerns.

“I don’t see anything wrong with clear backpacks,” teacher Cherrie Hewitt said. “You need them to go to concerts and baseball games so I think it’ll be okay to use them for school.”

Other suggestions to improve school safety include metal detectors and additional police officers on campus. 

Hewitt said, “A person will always find a way to break the rules, but hopefully, this rule can make people wishing to do harm think twice.”