The question “Could that happen here?” has crossed everyone’s mind at least once in their lives. Whether they’re concerned about what’s on the front news or what they’ve heard about from family and friends, nobody wants it to strike home.

Officer Metzger, NAI’s School Resource Officer, was interviewed to gain his perspective on how NAI manages safety issues, ranging from somewhat trivial to horrifyingly realistic.

The first issues are the most serious and threatening issues: school shootings and bomb threats.

Whether a threat is uncovered on the bathroom walls or directly sent via phone, “The police department and school officials conduct a threat assessment to determine if the threat is credible”, stated Officer Metzger.

If it is, the school could undergo a lockdown, lockout, or evacuation: similar to what occurred last year at NAI.

Officer Metzger added that “Everyone at the school has a job to do. My job as the School Resource Officer is to stop the active threat. The school staff’s job is to protect the students by any means”.

In any situation, it’s imperative to listen to teachers and any other staff in case of an emergency. This is true even for drills. They contribute to everyone’s safety during the real thing, so please endure the ten minutes of practice instead of goofing off.

On a much lighter note, another concern with many students is the dreaded (sorry P.E. teachers) bike trails.

While some may find them invigorating and can’t wait to get in the dirt and mud, others adopt a much different mindset: one full of worry and “Oh dang, I have to do that? I’m going to fall and break everything.”

Honestly, they’re not the end of the world, but some people might truly be scared for their own safety. At least once, almost everyone has fallen off their bike, and it’s not the greatest feeling for your legs or dignity.  For the people who have never biked before, it can be extremely nerve-racking.

If a student has an earnest concern with any P.E. unit, including biking, Officer Metzger encouraged that student to “communicate with the administration” to work through any issues.

The next topic of discussion is theft. Recently, students have been told to lock up their backpacks and everything of value in the locker room during P.E. This includes “bringing your own combination lock”, even though most students haven’t touched theirs or lost them after middle school, where it was required.

Officer Metzger went into further detail, saying, “In every theft that’s happened, the kid’s had their airpods in their backpack or money was hidden in their backpack. It’s riffled through, then stolen”.

If a student doesn’t comply, “The punishment will probably first be a warning. If it happens again, then there might be some type of detention or three strikes”, commented Officer Metzger.

He revealed the reason behind the new rule, stating, “We just want to make it obvious that things are getting stolen; be more secure and use your lockers”.

The question of whether or not to install metal detectors at NAI has frequently been discussed in the past, and the school always comes to the conclusion of not implementing this measure. Traditionally, the reason cited for not installing metal detectors is because of the large student population and that it would be very time consuming

Officer Metzger explained, “If you have 1600 students, every student would have to go through one entrance or two”. This would mean more staff and security would have to be hired or relocated in order for the process to run smoothly.

Additionally, the school day would have to start earlier, as it requires time for everyone to get checked in the morning, which would cut into class time. “The city schools do it, and it takes anywhere from 20-30 minutes to get all the kids in”, he pointed out.

Even with the metal detectors, Officer Metzger argued that “If somebody has nefarious reasons to bring a weapon in, they’re going to do it, no matter if there’re metal detectors or not….they will find some way to do it”.

At the end of the day, everyone wants to be safe, and the administration and staff at NAI try their best to make that a reality.