Radford students are donning a new look this year, and administrators, teachers, and security are keeping their eyes on students to make sure the look stays put. Students are greeted in the morning and in the hallways with reminders to wear their school identification badges.

Radford, over the years, always enforced a school ID policy, yet students had the freedom to keep their badges out of sight and in their wallets and bags, so long as they were able to show the badge upon request.

However, the 2016-2017 school year brought with it a revamped school policy. An updated protocol has teachers diligently checking all students for their school IDs during the first class period of the day. While this isn’t new, teachers and administrators require students to keep their school identification badges on at all times, even during passing time between classes and recess breaks, which isn’t a familiar routine for most students.

Principal James Sunday said that requiring students to wear their school badges is a measure to help with the school’s safety and security.

“We as a school want to be able to readily identify our students by having them wear their ID badges at all times,” he said. “The new policy will benefit the school by being able to identify our students and also being able to know who they are by name when you see them. We want to create a safe campus and having identification is the first start to that.”

Students who fail to wear student identification, according to Assistant Principal Tyler Brown, face three levels of consequences. Students not wearing their IDs are given verbal warnings, and report to the office to purchase a new badge, or are given a pass indicating they have a temporary ID. Students are given two additional warnings, and for the fourth offense, parents are notified. Students who continue to not don their IDs are required to come in for Saturday school.

Identification badges are more than clothing accessories. Principal Sunday said that students utilize them daily to purchase school meals, and when the library reopens, they will use them to check out materials. In addition to identifying students, the regular use of their badges should result in less incidents of ID loss.

Ahvi Tate (11) said, “I’m not very good at keeping up with things that I don’t use” because she said that she never eats in the cafeteria, and does not use her ID for anything else. So, she said that she purchased an extra badge “because I knew I would lose it sooner or later, and I didn’t want to get in trouble for not having my ID.”

Steven Felix (12) is a fourth year Ram, and he said that he’s surprised at the new policy. He considers himself a model student, academically and behavior-wise, who’s never gotten in trouble in school, and does not think he should be reprimanded for not having it.

“I don’t feel welcomed when they stop me in the hallway to see my ID,” he said. “Sometimes, the way they do it is harsh. I see students pulled by the arm and to the side because they don’t have their IDs on.”

“I understand that the ID policy is to make sure that [non-students] come on to campus. However, when I have my JROTC uniform on, it doesn’t make sense to me,” Felix said, on being asked to show his badge.

Wearing an ID at all times may have indirect lessons. It can train students to be more responsible, as they prepare for the workplace. Some jobs require employees to carry identification with them, and this system can acquaint students with this responsibility.

Junior Jacob Davenport is a new student who arrived in August, and he said that his previous high school in California also had badges, but students were not required to wear them.

“The ID policy isn’t such a big deal, in my opinion, as it trains students to handle more responsibilities,” he said.

Faculty and administrators are enforcing the policy through repeated reminders and conversations with students.

Marichelle Agas (11) said that she gets reminders when “I got stopped by the VP twice for not having my ID on, and he told me and the people around me that we need to be wearing it at all times.”

Principal Sunday said that it is necessary to remind students the importance of wearing their IDs and the purpose of having them visible at all times.

While Rodolfo Jose Familaran (11) admits that “it was kind of annoying at the start,” he said that wearing his ID is a part of his routine now.

With over 1,000 students in the school, some do not believe that it’s realistic to check every student for their badge, all day long.

“I feel that it is unnecessary to check us every day for a badge. It’s very inconvenient, and there could still be people walking around everyday that they won’t catch,” Ashley King (11) said.

Senior Eric Keaweehu said that he complies because he does not see a reason to fight the policy.

“We just need to wear it,” he said. “I believe we should just have it on us at all times.”