Takia Tinney, senior, stumbles out of bed searching for her alarm clock to silence the annoying wake-up call. She wipes her eyes and makes her way to her closet to pick out her outfit for the day. Tinney knows the school dress code very well. And despite that knowledge she picks out some short shorts, a spaghetti strap shirt and her favorite pair of long red socks.
With there being fewer campus security monitors at the school this year, the chances of her being caught and sent to M3 for her inappropriate clothing are slim. “I just go the opposite way from where they (CSMs) go,” Tinney said. So she takes the chance with confidence.
Like Tinney, students are breaking the rules that have been enforced for many years on this campus. The difference between past years and this year is there are four CSMs instead of eight. This is due to the board of education’s decision to cut CSMs late spring of last year.
“It’s a district thing according to the budget cuts,” said Gamal Salama, assistant principal. “CSMs (are) being cut almost 50 percent.”
And with fewer eyes watching the students, some take this opportunity to misbehave because they don’t expect to get caught or punished. Because of the cut in security it has become easier for students to slip through the cracks of a wall that has been built based on rules, discipline and consequences. CSMs have no way of covering every part of campus at the exact same time so it’s easier for students to get past security.
“You can easily get off campus,” said Candace Ross, senior. There is a CSM that monitors each gate students use to go off campus during lunch, but some students find a way to sneak past security and leave school grounds without permission. CSM Otha Dread has noticed that students are more likely to break the rules because they don’t believe that there’s a big chance that they will get punished.
“I went off campus once but I didn’t get caught,” said Luis Garcia, sophomore.
Some people have a different opinion than Dread.
“It’s been more positive,” said Youlin Aissa, assistant principal. As she patrols the hallways Aissa has not seen a rise in misbehavior with the students.
“I applaud the students for behaving maturely,” she said.
Though some students take advantage of the fact that there are fewer campus security monitors around, others look at it in a less positive way.
Students have shown concern about their safety on this campus. Fewer security means a smaller chance of being protected in the eyes of students.
“I think the environment of the school is less safe because there’s less security,” said Desiraye Hammons, sophomore.
Because there are fewer CSMs this year, there aren’t as many people around to patrol the campus, not only to keep students in line but to also ensure safety to the people on school grounds.
People have noticed the change within the school compared to prior years. “I think it seems different around campus because the CSMs aren’t really securing the campus,” said Tiera Davis, sophomore. “There are more kids and less security.”
Approximately 1800 students go to Stagg, divide that by four CSMs and you have a pretty good idea of what the security has to deal with.
But there are other students who don’t feel less secure now than they did before.
“I think it’s a good thing that we have less security,” Ryan Quarls, junior, said. “We just need a couple (CSMs) and we’ll be good, you guys are wasting money on security you don’t need.”
Because of the cut in CSMs there have been changes in the way the school runs. At lunch the hallways are closed. The larger bathrooms are located in the hallways and they are also more convenient for some students. Because they are locked students are forced to use the K-wing and R-wing bathrooms, which are smaller and farther away from most classes. Dread said it’s because there are no more monitors to cover the halls.
“It doesn’t matter how many CSMs there are,” Salama said. “(Its about) being proactive when it comes to discipline.”
