Dress Up for Safety

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  Wai'anae, Hawai'i
  September 30th, 2014 - Wai'anae, HI
  
  Everyday, about 2,300 people are reported missing in the United States. Here at Waianae High School, many students are unaware of a simple piece of plastic that may just save their lives. Waianae High School’s push for this material to be worn, may be cramping some student's style, but if it’s not worn more often, student's sense of personal fashion may disappear completely. Waianae is thinking about enforcing a uniform policy if I.D.s are not more visible on campus. To teens, fashion at school may be the biggest form of personal expression.
  
  "Well I feel like uniforms will cut off our ability to express ourselves," explained Senior Wayson Josue.
  
  Although students care about saving their free dress from uniforms, they are blinded by their looks and sightless to the meaning that I.D.’s are not made to cramp your style.
  
  I.D.s are not just for safety, student are able to check out books from the library, as well as purchase school lunch that can help with their nutrition and concentration by silencing their grumbling tummies.
  
  “There are some other useful things that go along with having an I.D... another one is that you can go into the school library, you could check out a book. All they need to do is just, look if you are the person whose picture is on the I.D. its useful if you decide to eat lunch if theres money in your account or if you're free and certified they just scan your I.D. check to make sure you are the person in the picture and you get your lunch money.” said Ms. Weidman, a counselor at Waianae High School.
  
  However, in addition to these beneficial purposes, your life could actually be saved by this little piece of plastic.
  
  “Most important purpose of students wearing their I.D.s is for safety, students with valid I.D.S we know for a fact that they belong on campus and since we have a very open campus theres many places where, people can just come in and leave campus I think its really really important to have a way of identifying who really belongs here and who doesn’t.” explained Mr. Kurose, vice principal of Waianae High School.
  
  Day and night, people are roaming around campus. Located next to a homeless encampment, anyone could actually pay a surprise visit.
  
  “We have parents sometimes who want to come on campus just to see if their kids are in class or not.” Weidman added. School staff enforce what the rules are and they use the I.D.’s to identify if that person belongs to this school.
  
  Administrators are discussing a new resolution to this issue of insubordination, one that may just put students back in uniforms. Students like senior Wayson Josue are not happy about this.
  
  “I think it would block school spirit.” he explained. These fashion killing uniforms could end the life of a free dress school. However, there is a simple way to divert this fashion disaster.
  
  “It’s better safe, than sorry” explained sophomore Gabbrielle Galano. One student leads this fashion trend to safety, wearing his I.D. every day without fail.
  
  “Its easy to wear an I.D.” says Josue. This schools free dress may be ended. No official say, but the best way to avoid this fashion disaster is to wear your I.D.s, it's better late than never, but never late is better.

"It’s just a picture, it doesn’t show you who you really are,"

Wayson Josue Said.

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lOOKING bACK

"At first I had no idea what I.D's were for, but now I understand the truth behind that little piece of plastic."


Dayten Pua, Photographer

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"I thought they weren't that big of a deal for anyone."



Angelika Ayau, Reporter

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