Students subjected to metal detector and bag searches, results unclear

Last Tuesday morning students had to go through metal detectors in the gym and have their bags searched before entering the building. Students reported being late to their classes and by Wednesday, rumors were swirling over the reason for the searches and if anything illegal was found.

“Someone told me that something happened at McDonald’s, not school,” said Jalyssa Johnson, an eighth grader. “A shooting happened at McDonald’s; well someone told me that. It could’ve been near R.F.K. High School, too.”

McDonald’s is located about five blocks away and R.F.K. Community High School is just one block away from school. Staff had also heard of a nearby gun incident.

“They did it [the metal detector search] the other day because there were shots fired in front of R.F.K.,” said social studies teacher Patsy DiMonte.

But whether there was a gun incident at McDonald’s, R.F.K. or at all remained unclear.

“I don’t have specific details but I did hear that yesterday afternoon there was a shelter-in because of some violence in the neighborhood,” said school social worker Jill Kaufman. “I don’t know the details at all. I actually heard different stories, so I don’t wanna share anything that I don’t really know about.”

The results of last Tuesday’s search and whether any weapons or other illegal items were found was not shared with students. But students said they heard things were found.

“Some students were caught with guns, vapes, knives and weapons that could be used against other students in fights,” said eighth grade student Kadija Pohmal.

Pohmal’s belief that weapons were found was echoed by many students. 

“I don’t know if I can actually state that,” said Assistant Principal Stephanie Barnes. “I cannot confirm or deny the rumor; I have to protect the students in the building from gossip.”  

Student reaction to the search was mixed.

“I think it’s a good thing to be safe and stuff but I wouldn’t want to do it like all the time because it makes me kind of anxious about what is actually going on in school,” sophomore Reem Tahir said.

And many students found going through the metal detectors to be a very huge inconvenience.  

“So, I had to pull out everything from my pockets and it took like five minutes to take everything out and all of my stuff was a mess and I almost lost my money, so yeah,” said Johnson. Tahir agreed. “I was very late to my first period class which was horrible because the bag checks took so long,” she said. “Many other students were also late to their first period class which caused them to miss parts of their lessons in class.”

But requiring students to pass through metal detectors and have their bags searched may be more than just an inconvenience. It may violate students’ rights.

“I know that the students don’t like it. They’re waiting in line and they can’t get to class, they feel that it’s like an invasion of privacy,” said DiMonte. He explained in school settings they only need to have a “reasonable suspicion” to search students.

DiMonte’s explanation comes from the 1984 case New Jersey v. T.L.O ruling. In that case, a principal searched a student’s purse based on a report that she was smoking in the girls bathroom. The Court said that students do have a Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures, but the standard is not ‘probable cause’ to search, but a ‘reasonable suspicion.’ In New Jersey v. T.L.O the Court found that the circumstances that led to the search met the ‘reasonable suspicion’ standard and that the search was limited in scope because the principal just searched her purse, which is a place where cigarettes might be kept. 

But whether or not schools have a reasonable suspicion to search an entire student body with metal detectors and bag checks is debatable. According to the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), a not-for-profit organization that fights for civil liberties, students can decline scanning. “Declining scanning requires the school safety agent to refer the students to the principal (A-432(II)(A)(3)).” It is at the principal’s discretion about how the student should be admitted to school. Students cannot be kept out of school for declining to go through the metal detector.

“I think the metal detectors actually do violate students’ Fourth Amendment rights since we’re basically being checked,” Pohmal said. Still, Pohmal was not opposed to having them in school. “I think that the bag checks should be used more often instead of just once a year. Like, no joke. Knives. I think they [searches] are pretty necessary.”