By Delani Griffin

On February 14, 2018 Parkland, Florida became the most recent mass shooting, where 14 people were injured and 17 people were killed in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

This week, Parkland’s school board has began to enforce all students to use see-through (clear) backpacks, as of April 2, 2018. The school board released their decision on this action on March 21, after “[receiving] many inquiries regarding the District’s efforts to fortify school campuses and enhance safety protocols.”

The students have began using these backpacks, as it is now mandatory, although some students have began to express their opinions on this new policy. Along with expressing opinions vocally on the issue, students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have also begun to display their opinions and feelings on their new backpacks.

As the students begin to ask themselves how this would be useful, many people from our school have had their own opinions on this issue. Many students have voiced their concern, as it is, “an invasion of privacy,” says Alex G, Senior at North Eugene High School. Many girls, including Araceli V expressed concern, “being a girl, you know there’s stuff we have to carry.” Other students voiced concern of other students judging them for what they see in their backpack, and some students had no concerns at all.

The librarian at North Eugene High School commented on the idea of enforcing clear backpacks, after asking how many students had voted ‘yes’ on information from a poll gathered earlier this week.

When asked if clear backpacks could be beneficial, Mindy Brady school librarian said, “it’s beneficial in that it’s getting more kids to be activists.”

We asked 100 students at North Eugene if they would mind having a clear backpack if it was made mandatory by the 4J School District. 70 of them said that they would mind having to use clear backpacks, and 30 students said that they would not mind having to use clear backpacks.