After two men recorded themselves trespassing into North High School during school hours, administration has been taking steps to implement stronger school security measures.

The video that was posted on YouTube raised awareness of the importance of the current safety procedures. Fortunately, this incident did not result in any student or faculty being harmed. Yet many students are still shaken up about the incident.

“I do wonder what’s going on in the guys’ mind,” Hani Kang said. “I mean we live in 2019 and these kinds of things aren’t gonna be taken as jokes.”

Aside from the heightened sense of awareness of safety from the students, there are a few notable policy changes.

The first level of extra school security was announced on on January 15 when an email was sent out reminding students to keep doors closed. To enforce that policy, all exterior doors are now alarmed to keep visitors entering only through the main lobby doors. Only at dismissal are students allowed to use the bus platform doors, the gymnasium doors, or the doors by the health and english office.

However, many students are annoyed by the new alarms, deeming them ineffective.

“Most of the times alarms have gone off it’s been the teachers,” sophomore Nina Philips noted. “I’ve seen [a teacher] just walk out and the alarm started to ring and then another teacher went out again and it started to ring again. The students have actually been pretty cautious though.”

Furthermore, Philips noted that the alarms on the doors go off without response the lack of enforcement makes the them seem even more of a nuisance than a precautionary measure.

“It was going off for seven hours over the weekend,” says Phillips who was participating in the school production 39 Steps during a weekend rehearsal. “Why didn’t security come and do something?”

As a student who lives walking distance from the school (around a 3-4 minute walk), I can attest that the alarms irritate those living nearby the school. From 7pm to later than 10:45pm, after the Battle of the Classes, the alarms of the school were still going off. I could hear it continuously ringing loud enough to periodically cause complaint.

In addition to new alarms the school is building a wall was built in the front lobby to help regulate and filter those entering and exiting the building. A kiosk will be built in front of the middle doors so that there is a single and orderly entrance and exit. “Staff and students have to be more careful of where they come in and out,” says Dr. Krauz. If you are not a student and do not have identification, then our responsibility is to stop you there so you have not entered the building.”

One of the most notable differences seems to be the new concrete flower pots placed in the front of the school where students spend their time during free periods. “I do not know where it evolved from but it is a safety issue so that nobody can get through the building” Dr. Krauz told Guide Post.

While the flower pots are there to prevent effective entrance to the building, students seem to be confused as to its purpose and necessity.

“The flowerpots are ugly and unnecessary,” junior Luca Sharbani said.

Even with the new safety precautions, students are well aware of the unfortunate reality we live in.

“I do understand why the school is taking this so seriously because they want to keep everyone safe,” Kang says. “To be honest no new security measure or advanced technology is going to save every person.”

While these new security systems have yet to prove themselves useful in protecting students, hopefully they will never have to be used to their full extent. However, as of now, students seem to feel more irritated with these new security measures than safe.