"Morning Scare" by Selvin Sinclair

By Selvin Sinclair

Anger and fear took its place on the morning of Tuesday, December 9th.  As I was walking inside the door of Progress High School, all I saw was a bunch of scanners and metal detectors.  Kids were taking off their belts and earrings and emptying out their book-bags.  I could tell by their facial expressions that they were furious.  When one of the security guards asked me to take off my belt and lift up my arms, I began to feel uncomfortable--uncomfortable because I had never experienced anything like that before.  At that time all I kept thinking was, 'Why were scanners placed inside our school?  Did something violent happen the day before?  Did someone break in?'  That's when I began to quiver.

After security had checked my bags and searched m, it was time for me to go to class.  When I got there, I noticed that the bell had rung!  It took me 10-15 minutes to get to class, which made me want to go back there and do something I would regret.

Time passed and it was time for lunch.  During lunch period, the scanner situation was still the buzz.  Even my friends had something to say about the whole scanner idea.  My friends are all freshman: Syed Hoque, Danielle Dixon, Jennie Novas, Felicia Thomas and Rebecca Rivera.  Syed was saying that searching the kids and making them empty their bags was a violation of privacy.  Rebecca said, "Scanners and metal detectors are a waste of time...kids are still going to get their things inside the school.  She also stated that it makes kids late.  Jennie was saying that she felt like she was being harassed because she had never experienced anything like that before.  Last, but not least, Danielle spoke about how she felt uncomfortable when they asked her to take off her belt and lift up her arms.

The voices of these people must take effect.  Let our opinions matter for once.  We are old enough to decide what we want and what we do not want.  And we want the scanners to leave!