This school year, nearly every WHS junior and senior has used their digital ID a countless number of times. In open mods, scanning in and out of school has been a breeze for upperclassmen. With the success of this method has come a new use for the ID123 app on every warrior’s phone. Starting in April, all students have been tasked with not only scanning in and out of the building, but also in and out of IMCs. This raises the question, what purpose does this serve?

Before the introduction of scanning into IMCs, entering and leaving through the front entrance was a breeze with the use of scanning devices that indicated the approval of your ID with a satisfying beep. However, these have since been replaced with ancient iPads. In the early stages of these iPads’ arrival, the screen was not directed towards the student scanning, so it was difficult and awkward to know whether you had been approved or it looked like you were breaking into the school with a fraudulent ID. However, I will admit, now that the iPads have been adjusted so the selfie camera is what scans your QR code, it is much easier to tell if it worked. Although, I think many students will agree when I say that I miss the old scanners at the front desk.

Another obvious aspect of scanning into IMCs is safety. One of the first things any Westside administrator will tell you regarding the cause of the new scanning systems is interconnectedness and safety of students. Admin can search for a student’s location or see if they scanned into an IMC to ensure they are actually “on their way to the bathroom” and not just wandering the halls. However, while effective, this measure seems a bit excessive, dystopian, and big brother-esque. Students should be permitted an ounce of freedom and autonomy without a school-operated Life360 tracking their every movement.

An easy solution to these problems is to make not scanning into IMCs a privilege. Similarly to how an off-campus pass is earned by freshman and sophomores, a punishment for breaking school rules could be having your location known by WHS administrators by needing to scan into IMCs. I think that by implementing this solution, students will feel as though they have more freedom in the building, creating a more trusting school environment. With their privacy of location at stake, students will not want to risk breaking school rules