You've Got Another Thing Coming...

Ready for an anti-authoritarian rant? Because here we go... *drumroll*:

This has been the last "official" week of school where everyone has had to come in and take finals for certain classes. Now during the rest of the year, excluding this "finals week," security has been at a minimum (for the most part). Sure they will tell you to put away the occasional ipod in the morning because it gives them something to do, but there's nothing extreme and usually they wont confiscate it. Throughout the year you are free to bring in bags, food, and even cell phones just as long as you don't display them in the open. The different and completely ridiculous thing about finals week is that administration decides to "crack down" and treat the students like they are prisoners rather than actual students. If you bring a bag it will be taken away from you, whether you let them check its' contents or not. They will also confiscate ipods and other electronics, but the major "no-no" to bring to school is *bum bum bum*... the highly dangerous and lethal cellphone (which apparently compromises the overall safety of the school and its precious finals).

There has been a thorough and ongoing search for cellphones as students have walked through the main entrance and past security to their finals this week. They will tell you to hand in your cell phone and most students are not very fond of that idea. If administration thinks you might have a cell-phone on your person they will pat you down or "frisk" you to find out. Ladies and gentlemen have even been made to turn out their pockets. A guy that I've talked to this week said that one of the security guards questioned him saying "You have a bulge in your pocket.What's in it?" Of course when I heard that I had to laugh a bit.. once in awhile our minds tend to slip into the gutter (mine does anyway). The response to that statement from another person was "You should've told him you had a boner and walked away." So ANYWAY.. this cellphone thing has gotten a bit ridiculous, and to be perfectly honest: it's not doing very much to improve "security." Plenty of people have gotten past with their cellphone without security knowing. I have watched some girls go to the extremes of stuffing their phones into their bras in order to get by. Like we're smuggling in drugs or something! It's not cocaine, it's not a bomb... its a cellphone for chrissake!

I was annoyed about this process beforehand, but what brought about this angry rant is that fact that my cellphone did in fact get confiscated. I got past security and got caught with it, eventually having to hand it in. I wasn't even using the cellphone. Hell, it wasn't even on! So the prick security guard that I got caught by (and I'm not just calling him that because he's the one who caught me.. he really is a prick *cough* excuse my French)made me follow him down to the security tables they had set up to sign in belongings. There were two tables set up about 2 feet away from each other and they both serve the same purpose. There were around 4 people at one table and 2 at the other so, naturally, I went to the table that was less crowded. Then the security guard has a little shit-fit which consisted of "I TOLD YOU TO GO TO THAT TABLE!!" And I'm like okay "relax" its not like I'm trying to make a damn prison-break here, I was going to the table with less people. I had a freaking pen in my hand to sign my phone in! Chill out psycho and step down from that power-trip before you hurt yourself. It's not a matter of national security so stop having a conniption. Please, spare us. (No I didn't say all of that >> I just said relax)

So I hand in my phone and I go take all my finals... whatever. Afterwards, before going to catch the bus, I go to the table to get my cellphone back. Turns out that since I got caught with it after I passed the tables they had handed my phone over to the main office. So then I had to go to the main office and talk to the head of administration or whatever he is (he will remain unnamed for blog purposes.. I'll just refer to him as Mr. M). When I got to the main office I had to go into Mr. M's office and have a "meeting" to explain why I hadn't given up my cellphone in the first place. I told him that "I do not trust administration with my personal belongings. I have gotten my cellphone stolen once and would like to keep it that way." At the end of our little meeting he told me that I had to have a parent come to the school in order for me to get my phone back. I called my mom from the office but I couldn't get in touch and by that point I had missed my bus home. Luckily a friend was still there when I got out and her mother was nice enough to drive me home.. otherwise I would have been stranded there for awhile.

Eventually I got home and explained what had happened. My mom and I had to drive back to school and get my cellphone from the main office after all of that. And get this- when I got my cellphone back... the power was still OFF. Needless to say, I'm pissed, but not so much that my cellphone got taken away. I'm angry at the way my school does things and the whole process. Even when you go to take exceedingly important tests like SAT's or ACT's they don't go to the extremes that my school did this week. They just tell you to shut everything off and put it beneath your desk. There is no confiscation and no searching of the students. When students have to worry about getting searched or getting "frisked" by a security guard when they go to school, there is definitely a problem. Taking away purses from female students bothers me too. What if by some chance one of those girls had their period? (Sorry guys who are reading this) Can you imagine having your bag searched by that same prick security guard that confiscated my cellphone? Explaining why you need your bag? Or if they still take it away.. carrying around a tampon or a pad all day?! That's horrible and completely ridiculous.

It is all just so unnecessary. It is a school, not a prison!! We are students, not criminals!!! Most of us are good kids and are being punished because of the mistakes of a few others. Stuff like this makes me really look forward to getting out of high school. Security, administration, and all those high-up people need to get off their power-trips, step off of those high pedestals they put themselves on, and see things for how they really are. These measures are completely unnecessary... but unfortunately nothing will change. One more year...