Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Must Now Wear Clear Backpacks
[BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [INAUDIBLE] [INAUDIBLE]
It has been more than a month since a deadly school shooting killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and the school district is taking controversial action to prevent future violence with a new rule.
Survivors of the shooting will be leading a worldwide march calling for gun control Saturday, but on Wednesday, Broward County Public School Superintendent Robert Runcie made an announcement about changing policy within the school itself.
"Robert W. Runcie, the superintendent of Broward County Public Schools, announces that only clear backpacks will be allowed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after Spring Break, which is next week," reported The New York Times. "The school will provide each student with a backpack at no cost."
The procedure is part of a new safety measure by the school. It isn't the only safety measure, though. Classroom doors will remain locked at all times, gates will be secured often, and there will be "emergency preparedness and response training for faculty, staff and students on a regular basis," according to Fox News.
RELATED: How I Got Through My First Day Back at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, After the Shooting
Immediately after the news broke about the backpacks, students who survived the shooting took to Twitter to criticize it, calling for gun control instead.
Great. Because clear backpacks are gonna fix everything. I appreciate the attempt, but I’d rather have common since gun laws than a clear backpack.
#NeverAgain #EnoughIsEnough https://t.co/1HRudeSOib— Lauren Hogg (@lauren_hoggs) March 21, 2018
Clear backpacks don't do anything except make us look stupid. We want to be safe, not uncomfortable. The only thing that can really have an impact on our safety is gun control
— Carly Novell (@car_nove) March 21, 2018
Enforcing students to wear clear backpacks is simply like putting a band-aid on a broken bone
— natasha #NeverAgain (@sighnatasha) March 22, 2018
s/o to America for making my school seem like jail now because legislators don’t have common sense gun reform on their agendas https://t.co/MJZFeaeiSa
— Kyra Parrow (@longlivekcx) March 21, 2018
While the district is implementing these policies, the focus of many of the student survivors remains on gun legislation and protection. The March for Our Lives, which will take place Saturday, is being lead by Stoneman Douglas survivors, and it has already expanded to include more than 250 events around the world.
The hope of the march is to spur legislative action in favor of gun control so that mass shootings will not happen in the future.
