After two weeks of winter break, Poly Upper School students arrived on campus to find a new addition on campus: a large, metal gate enclosing the main entrance to the South Campus. Since the beginning of this school year, Poly has aimed to increase security on campus by gating the entrances near Garland parking lot, Arden Lawn and various South Campus entrances. With the addition of the new gate, the South Campus is now fully fenced.
The new gate enclosing the main South Campus entrance has sparked contrasting opinions regarding its efficiency and necessity.
According to Poly’s administration, the gate was built to reduce trespassing during off-campus hours.
“Poly maintains our ongoing commitment to the safety of our students and community. Campus hardening measures, like fences, gates, locks and cameras are only part of the safety equation. A larger aspect of safety is building relationships and knowing the community,” shared Assistant Director of Auxiliary Programs and Emergency Preparedness Kevin Austin.
“Gates and fences do provide a material benefit while also discouraging [theft] attempts from being made in the first place.” said Austin.
“We wanted to make sure that the fence was complete and that the gates were operational, and part of that was not necessarily to keep students in, but to make it clear that this a school campus and not an open park for people to walk in and use,” shared Upper School Director José Melgoza. “I think previously, when the fence wasn’t complete and the gates weren’t reliably closed, it created a sense that it was an open public space.”
Students utilize this main entrance during school hours, especially during lunch periods, when students frequent Lake Avenue or venture off campus to eat. This is the second year that Poly has allowed all high school students to go off campus during free periods and lunch periods.
Although the main gate was initially intended to remain locked outside of school hours, the high volume of after-school activities taking place on campus means the gate is typically left unlocked until the late evening.
“The new gate is for nighttime and weekend campus security and hasn’t impacted our sign-out processes in any way. It is open during the school day and locked after hours,” shared Upper School Dean of Students Jennifer Cardillo.
However, some students have reacted negatively to the recent addition, doubting the extent of protection it provides.
“I don’t really like it because I feel enclosed, and it feels like there is not a lot of freedom. I don’t think it helps with security because it is always open,” reflected sophomore Clive Chao.
Nevertheless, other students and faculty members do feel confident that this gate will make a positive impact on our community and increase campus safety.
“I believe the gate definitely helped and will continue helping our community. I think it is important we keep our students and faculty safe, and the gate has done that. And, thankfully, I am not as scared to set my backpack down outside anymore,” shared sophomore Aleah Norheim, whose backpack was stolen from campus before the gate was installed.
“It’s used to secure the campus at night with the riff-raff that comes wandering through sometimes,” shared Upper School Mathematics teacher Jack Prater.
“I feel like it’s definitely going to keep our campus safe,” shared sophomore Harper Doyle.
