Two CMS students. Two opposing views on clear backpacks.

Two Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools students with opposing views write about the district’s new policy which will require clear backpacks at all high schools. CMS said it will implement the policy in February when the backpacks arrive.

Clear backpacks: A good first step

Ben Jones is a sophomore at Myers Park High School

A month ago, a school bus full of Myers Park High students watched in horror as a peer showed off the gun he’d been carrying in his backpack all day.

A week later, one of my teachers brought up the incident, asking the class if we would support using clear backpacks to try to keep guns out of schools. I said no.

I was sitting in that same Civics classroom Nov. 30 when a notification popped up on my phone that there had been a school shooting in Michigan. My mind immediately went to the week before, when I opposed a policy that could have prevented a horrific event like this.

Charlotte is facing a gun crisis of its own, with 23 guns found in CMS schools since August — surpassing the 22 found in CMS schools during all of the last school year. Just about every year since middle school, I’ve heard of a shooting threat at my school.

This is normal for students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district; most of us go to school even after hearing the threat. With pressure rising, the district went with the clear backpacks solution. Unlike in civics class, I supported the decision this time.

While it may be an uncomfortable switch, slight discomfort doesn’t compare to the threat of guns in schools. Clear backpacks not only make guns easier to spot, but they act as a deterrent that discourages students from even bringing them on campus in the first place.

In the end, the only way to fully prevent gun violence in schools is through responsible gun legislation. But since Congress has refused to act, this problem has fallen to our school board.

I hope the new backpack policy is the start of a reimagined CMS — one that prioritizes the problems facing its students and reacts with bold changes to try and solve them. I hope our lawmakers see this new policy and realize their inaction is costing us students, causing us to make sacrifice after sacrifice just to go to school.

Clear backpacks won’t stop weapons

Seren Julian is a sophomore at South Mecklenburg High School

Each day, I walk through the halls of my high school frightened, not knowing if any one of the students surrounding me could pull a trigger at any moment.

How am I supposed to learn in an unsafe environment?

Clear backpacks have now been ordered for all CMS high schools and I have been engaging in conversation about whether this idea is logical. Hearing the viewpoints of both sides, I have ultimately decided that clear backpacks are a short-term solution to a long-term problem.

My first question as a female is, can I have non-see-through pouches for feminine products? If not, it’s a violation of personal privacy especially for students part of the non-binary and transgender community. Although it has become more socially acceptable to be open about personal hygiene, this can still hold an uncomfortable stigma.

Clear backpacks may also encourage stealing. Theft may induce physical fights on our campus and I already witness at least a dozen a week. Will this violence ever end?

Despite the invasion of privacy, let’s evaluate how easy it could be for students to get around this new enforcement. Simply look at a map of Myers Park, South Meck, and all other open campus schools in CMS. Look how easy it would be to walk onto school property from outside entrances. A weapon could be carried in one’s pants, shirt, or coat and pulled out during any transition period desired.

If a student is determined to bring weapons on campus, they will find a way around clear backpacks.

I agree that weapon rates may decrease with this new reinforcement, but there are problems with this plan that are unavoidable no matter how simple it seems. It’s time to start speaking up and making collective decisions that will benefit us all. None of us want to experience the fear of weapons on our campus, so it’s time to find more effective strategies. Is CMS thinking clearly about this solution?

This story was originally published December 15, 2021 at 2:04 PM.