Ever wondered why so many security guards and teachers monitor the entrance to the Senior Courtyard? Or why are there new posts standing in the ground? What about the gate next to the breezeway? The school is taking new safety precautions this past school year to deter outsiders from entering the school by building new structures. Since the breezeway between the 300s and the 700s is such a heavily trafficked area with deliveries and students, there is now a gate with reflective tape that Mr. Bryan DeLisi, the breezeway monitor, opens and closes during class and during passing periods. 

“Guards are helping stop the violence,” Ansh Anargwal, an executive student council board member said. He said he believes the fights decreased, since he was in his freshman year in 2022-23 school year due to increased security.

“This is a high school, we want it to be as safe and secure as we can, so it’s not going to be considered a prison.What we’re doing is trying to be prudent and responsible in finding ways in which we can further safety and security,” Mr. David Stokoe, the security coordinator, said. 

According to Stokoe, the structures are purely for safety and to deter anyone from the outside getting into the high school. The new gate serves as a physical barrier for delivery trucks and students, which has a padlock and chain, bright yellow posts, and reflective tape wrapped around the arms. Additionally, a plastic horse barricade at the entrance of the road to further signal to the trucks that they won’t be able to come and make a delivery. “What we wanted to do was add an additional layer of security through a visible deterrent as well as putting in a physical gate that would help,” Stokoe said. 

The Senior Courtyard has far more monitors and officers there who are patrolling the entrance compared to the breezeway. The courtyard is an open patio-like area with picnic tables and coverings for students to hangout and eat lunch during their lunch periods. 

“As far as the Senior courtyard goes, there’s going to be a 8-foot fence and a gate that will allow some vehicles to pass through when necessary,” Mr. Steven Jablonski said.  He said construction will continue throughout the school year. The final structure will be  an 8-foot fence, most likely made out of steel, with a gate so vehicles can pass through if needed, around the courtyard. The posts are already in place, but the fencing needs to arrive for the installation to be finished. The fence will also feature numerous thinner posts so students and staff can see through it in case someone is approaching from the outer grounds. 

“I love the courtyard” Ms. AshleyDermek, a librarian at the school, said. “It’s giving access to fresh air. Huge pro-courtyard person,” she said.