By Will Delaney ’14, Staff Writer

On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza opened fire inside Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing twenty-six people, most of whom were children. The incident, which followed other recent mass shootings at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, and a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, triggered a push by Democratic lawmakers, led by Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City and head of the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, to limit the sale and ownership of guns and other weaponry. Around the country, a dialogue about how to keep schools safe has simultaneously developed, with everyone from Wayne LaPierre, the Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, to Newark Academy’s own political think tanks and clubs weighing in.

Both sides of the political spectrum seem to agree that school security needs to rise in quality; where they differ in opinion is how that rise should occur. The NRA created the National School Shield Task Force, a group of investigators led by former Republican Representative Asa Hutchinson of Alaska, who concluded that attacks on schools by students or outsiders generally had a significantly lessened impact when there was a security presence. The NRA even wanted to arm teachers with guns for the protection of students. Critics, among them many Democrats lawmakers, rejected the proposals, saying that the addition of more guns is not a solution, and instead proposed additional funding for cameras, bulletproof glass, and fencing.

The debate over the right to purchase and bear assault rifles has been particularly vociferous. Recently, the Manchin-Toomey amendment, a bipartisan compromise between Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a Democrat, and Senator Patrick Toomey of Pennsylvania, a Republican, proposed increased background checks on all gun purchases, including those at gun shows and online, both of which are not currently restricted by the government. After aggressive lobbying on both sides of the aisle, the amendment was voted down by a count of 54-46, short of the required amount of 60 votes.

Newark Academy’s administration became keenly aware this year that the safety of students from outside dangers is a top priority. As students and teachers have noticed, security around campus has risen in numerous ways, from additional personnel to new technologies designed to secure the building. Though no one claims that the response of the school is unjustified, there has been a mixed reception to the new Buzz-In system featured at every entrance to Newark Academy.

President of the Young Democrats club, Jake Faber’14, said that he finds the Buzz-In system to be, “a waste of time and energy,” and that it “doesn’t solve the major issue – that there are dangerous people out there with access to weapons that can seriously harm students.” Jai Ghose’14, President of the Young Republicans club said, “The Buzz-In system is nothing more than a way to assuage the fears of over-concerned parents. While understandable, it will do little to make NA students safer.” Now, every entrance to the school is locked during the day, with the only options for entry being either a benevolent passerby, waiting for someone to buzz you in, or a teacher with a pass card. Some of the locked doors don’t even have a button, such as some  doors in the athletic building, many of which are often propped open during sports and activities.

Some students have found this system to be a nuisance in the mornings. David Yaroshevsky, a junior whose locker is behind the auditorium, no longer uses the door closest to his locker, because, as he said, “I trust it will be locked.” While he now must use the inconvenient front door to get to his locker, he admitted, “it is a slight inconvenience, but I’m not going to complain, it’s not really a big deal.” Ruby Gould, a sophomore, questioned the usefulness of the devices, “Someone who really wants to get in and hurt us, will just break in, especially if they have a gun.”

However, despite student complaints, the administration believes that the changes are in the best interest of the school as a whole. Mr. Rollenhagen, Dead of Faculty, said, “We’ve been considering something like this for the past five years, and with recent events we felt we had to do something. We are trying to make things more secure without getting rid of the freedom ethos of Newark Academy, and although it has inconvenienced some, we hope that it will get easier with time.”

Though some students may object to the installation of the Buzz-In System, it would be extremely difficult to justify a lack of response to recent events. Hopefully, these adjustments can help Newark Academy continue to be a safe learning environment for all students.