Many students, when thinking about a school issue, think about school uniforms or if phones should be allowed in school, yet there is another debate hanging over the heads many teachers and students. That issue is allowing school lockers to be searched for drugs. I believe that we should solve this silent issue once and for all, and allow lockers to be searched. There are many problems that people seem to have with lockers being searched.

Firstly, locker searches open up a whole new realm of possibilities. Finding drugs can lead to the possibility of exposing a drug addiction to the parents. Drug use in children is unsafe which is the reason for the abundant amount of anti-drug PSAs directed towards children. It can expose drug dealers to the police. Searching lockers can also expose problems to parents or guardians who can help the child break a drug habit or addiction.

       There can obviously be more than drugs in school lockers. Weapons and other dangerous items can be stored and hidden in a locker. It is better to be safe than sorry as school violence is on the rise in America. The Trace, a journalism non-profit organization focused on gun violence, as well as everytownresearch.org, a group committed to understanding and reducing gun violence, both report rise in gun violence at schools. Knowing that schools do searches, it could deter gangs from schools. It is better to be safe than sorry and allowing the searches will definitely make schools safer.

The biggest issue that students and parents have with school lockers being searched is an invasion of privacy. In reality, there is no privacy being invaded. No one cares about what notes you passed in class, who you’re dating, or what secrets you have in. They aren’t doing much other then looking for drugs. It is also not an invasion of privacy as lockers are owned by the school and state.

In the Dearborn Public Schools Student Code of Conduct, it is explicitly said  “While school authorities are to respect the rights of each student in the use of his/her locker/desk, it should be clear that the desk or locker is the property of the school and is assigned to the student for the purpose of storing school related materials and items essential to the physical well-being of the student,”

The student code of conduct goes on to explain that student lockers should only be searched when suspicion is aroused. For example, if there is reason to suspect that the locker is being used to hide evidence of an illegal activity.

Even students in our own school are divided on this issue. When I surveyed Unis Students I got a result of 50/50. Students like Grace Levine commented “It’s no problem because I have nothing to hide” yet others like Maya Hussein felt it was “A violation of privacy.” While there are many for it, there are many others out there completely against it. It is up to us as students, teachers, and parents to make sure this rule stays in place. As of now, Dearborn and Detroit schools allow searching but there is still the chance that that might changed. It is obvious that locker searches are essential to keep schools clean and safe. If this topic is ever put up for debate, remember that having the chance of weapons and drugs being hidden in schools is not worth a little bit of ‘privacy’.

By Amira Said

Middle School Journalist