As a safety measure, students are required to wear their IDs to school everyday. Some choose to wear it and others try to get through the day without it.

Assistant principal Mack Malone stands at the side door of the school every morning and reminds kids to put on their IDs. He talks to hundreds of students everyday about IDs. The rule is to keep outsiders from wandering the halls during the day and to hold kids accountable.

“We’re trying to protect each other and keep each other safe,” Malone said. “Most of us will be going to get a job, and there won’t be a job that doesn’t require you to wear some kind of identification.”

Malone isn’t the only person who deals with kids not having IDs. Office assistant Heather Medina has up to 20 kids coming in for permanent IDs and almost 30 coming in for temporary IDs each day.

“It’s a lot for only one house office,” Medina said. “Students should know to bring them. It’s a good thing to have for safety and so we know who you are.” 

Junior Emily Osborne said while she believes IDs are a part of safety, she also thinks they aren’t so necessary after a while. 

“IDs are important so they can know you’re a student, but they’ve seen most of us everyday for years,” she said. “After a while they learn our faces.” 

When a student forgets or loses their ID, they’re responsible for going to their house office and getting a new permanent ID ($5) or a one-day temporary ID ($1). If the ID is not purchased before school, consequences can be issued. Students get a warning the first time they forget their ID. The second time they get lunch detention and the third time’s a Thursday class. Osborne said she doesn’t think a fee should be involved.

“For a piece of paper that probably costs nothing to make or print, I don’t understand,” she said. “What if they find it the next day? Why do they still have to pay for accidentally forgetting it?”

Malone says the money goes back toward the printing costs and equipment. He wants the kids that he’s been with for years to be prepared to go out into the world where they have responsibilities to wear an ID for identification.

“When you leave me and go get a job and your boss requires you to wear an ID, who’s the first person you’re going to think of?” Malone laughed.