Written by: Aribeth Gu
When the dismissal bell rang at 12:14 PM, Wheatley hallways filled with the complaints and groans of students and teachers alike. By the start of the 7th period, students were showing off their acts of civil disobedience by sporting their school-mandated starter lanyards in unorthodox ways. Thick red stripes branded with “Wheatley Wildcats” in block letters along with the Wheatley mascot and logo hung out of pockets, swung on shoulders, or grasped in the hands of resentful students. As the day passed, hall monitors and teachers enforced the policy by reminding passing students to put their lanyards on. Students argued their concerns about the lanyards, questioning the safety of mandating lanyards for teenagers known to rebel.
After receiving the surprise gift in 6th period, Elyse Yan (Junior) exclaimed, “Someone’s going to choke someone with it”. Though each lanyard contained a breakaway safety clip, students feared the ability to manipulate the lanyard in unorthodox ways to harm others. Jake Del Gais (sophomore) stated the lanyard policy was “horrible”, as his friend hit him in the face with the lanyard when they were fooling around. Nadav Farahnik (Junior) expressed passionately his dislike for lanyards, saying, “they are a complete waste of our school budget. A lot of people don’t like their pictures because they’re from 10th grade. Either the school won’t get us new ID pictures, or they get us new IDs but won’t use our new pictures, which is ridiculous because they’re already putting all this money into safety. Can’t make the students a little bit happy?”
The lanyard policy is intended to keep Wheatley students safe as a response to the rise in armed intruders entering schools throughout the country. Last year, armed intruders entered a school in Great Neck South- influencing East Williston administrators, parents, and staff to enforce precautionary measures as a response to the incident. Wheatley students understand that the event at our neighboring school district likely triggered the implementation of the new identification policy, however many argue the existence of the lanyards brings upon a new set of concerns as well. The lanyard’s role in schools ranges from identification to attendance, and security. Discussions about the implementation of lanyards have been spoken about for a few years even before COVID-19.
When Principal Joseph Wiener sent out an email on 2/27th informing students of the upcoming policy change, Paul Barton (Junior) joked and made a comparison relating our school’s new policy to the authoritative government in Gilead, from The Handmaid’s Tale. James Ianonne (Junior), known to approach situations from a political standpoint, brought attention to the issue of lanyards from the perspective of a proud American. He vocalized his concerns stating, “I think it’s a violation of our civil liberties to say we need to wear a lanyard. I think we should be able to choose what we wear around our neck. And I think the authoritative forces here, which would be the school administration, are forcing this down our throats.” Other students, such as Anika Chabria (Senior), also mentioned the policy requiring students to wear the lanyards around their necks. “Usually, in public schools, we have the right to dress the way we want to, not being forced to wear things around our neck- especially since you can just have it on you. I don’t mind, but saying you have to have it around your neck is a bit odd.” Chabria’s stance reflects the majority of Wheatley students. Another Senior mentioned how she was neutral overall.
When asked about the policy, Nayiri Barton (Senior) who recently came back from the senior trip, referenced her time at the airport. “It kind of feels like I’m at the airport. I just got back from traveling. I have a break, and it feels the same as when I had to bring my passport in my boarding pass.” Juniors James Iannone and Nicole Shamalov brought up the increasing amount of security measures our schools are implementing. Iannone mentioned the measures needed to enter or leave the building. “We already have check lanes at both doors, every single morning. There are only two doors you can enter the building through. We already have checkpoints and we have to scan ID cards. I think the lanyards are unnecessary.” Nicole Shalomov commented, “I feel like getting lanyards will not stop the fact that people still lose their ID cards and do not bring them into school, I feel like it’s even harder to get into school now.”
Many students wonder if this policy is best fit for smaller schools like Wheatley- instead, it would be a better fit for larger schools. Nadav Farahnik stated, “I feel like since we have a small school, everyone knows everybody. So it’s kind of useless.” Nayiri Barton mentions, “If you have your ID at all, you can see that you’re from the school. I feel like we’re such a small school that it shouldn’t even be an issue. You know, maybe a school like Jericho, where there’s a ton of people.”
Though many Wheatley students oppose the new policy, students understand the rationality behind the policy. Juniors Ritika Kaur and Viraj Pahuja agreed that they “understood their intentions”. Viraj Pahuja added, “ I think these lanyards are a little over-hated and not bad. They show that the school is making some efforts towards safety.” His statement reflects the growing acceptance of the lanyard policy- and by the next day many students eventually caved into the constant reminders and sported the new lanyards in the halls. On the second day after the lanyard policy was implemented, students began making light of the situation. Multiple students have started collecting lanyards like limited edition shoes. Autumn Casella (Junior) encouraged students to take a positive outlook on the lanyards, saying, “Students and teachers are able to express their creativity through their own choice of lanyards. In the future, I encourage students to get colorful lanyards, I hope that we can keep Wheatley safe and keep students happy!”