On October 1, 2023, San Leandro High School started pushing students to wear their IDs while on campus, telling them that they would be sent home if not seen with one on them.  

Many students attending San Leandro High are against the idea of wearing their ID – and even refuse to wear it until they are caught by security.

“There’s no point because no one is wearing it and I also don’t see teachers enforcing them,” said senior David Nguyen. “It doesn’t really do anything besides us wearing our faces.”

As on-campus safety continues to be an ongoing problem, many teachers believe wearing IDs will help solve it.  

“We absolutely need to distinguish between SL students and non SL students. There have been many instances where non SL students have come on campus,” AP US History teacher and Badminton coach Ruby Smart said. “Companies also have their employees wearing their IDs and if we want to get students ready for their careers we might as well wear them.”

Teachers and staff want to help students get ready for their futures, treating and speaking to them as “young adults.”  Alumni Hector Rosas and Kelsey Lin, who are returning to help with the upcoming badminton season, agree that they do feel like they are being treated as young adults by the teachers that they are close to and have a deep bond with.  

“Well, we all come to school with a job. Students are learning and graduating and teachers are teaching students and helping them to graduate,” said Smart.

On November 1st, IDs became non-negotiable and students now have to show their ID before entering either campus.  Though wearing IDs is for the safety of everyone in the school, students seem to feel that it’s ineffective.

“It’s been annoying because I find it pretty pointless in the sense that it doesn’t change who can come in the school,” senior Kohee Chen said.

Wearing IDs is seen as a hassle in students’ eyes – one of the more visible ways being the disruption of the commute between our two campuses.

“It takes longer to get to class because they stop people who aren’t wearing them so it clogs up the entrance,” said Chen.  “It is a tedious process.”