A senior's ID rant

I would consider myself a pretty compliant student. Okay, compliant may be too strong of a word...but I generally complete all my assignments, maintain a low-key profile in class and I've rarely sought beef with the staff. So, trust that when I'm being insubordinate, it's because I was told to do something utterly ridiculous.

id handcuffs

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A few weeks ago, I'm sitting in my sixth period class, without any work to do and sitting listlessly in front of the computer. It then occurs to me that I had pages and pages of chemistry homework that would probably keep me up half the night if I didn't start now - yes, I am that bored. Much to my dismay, none of my fellow chem-mates have their books, so I drag myself out of the room and trudge to the third floor to borrow a book from my chem teacher.

I am at the end of the 330s hall when a teacher questions me about the whereabouts of my ID. I curse silently - I left it in my bag, which is in class. I tell the teacher thus and she dramatically puts her hand to her head, but continues walking. Breathing a sigh of relief, I reach for the door handle when the teacher behind her stops me and tells me to go back to my class to retrieve the ID. My eyes widen. My sixth period is all the way down on the first floor in the 160s hall. I plead with the teacher to spare me this once, explaining the distance and that my business would be quick and I would hurry down to my class and put on my ID then. He won't budge, saying that this would teach me to remember to wear my ID.

I stare blankly. I would have followed - albeit grudgingly - his request if my classroom was a couple of doors or even hallways away. Heck, I would have actually gone all the way down to get my ID if I were going to be upstairs for a while. But I was not going to basically walk the length of the school for a dumb piece of plastic, only to come back up for two seconds and go right back down again.

With attempted calmness, I ask if he would still be standing there by the time I came back up with my ID. "Probably not," he responds nonchalantly. As far as I'm concerned, if he wasn't willing to check if I actually got my ID, then he didn't really care about enforcing the policy in the first place. Thoroughly irked beyond my threshold, I yank the door open and stomp in to get my book. Before I knew it, my chemistry teacher is roped in the argument, who agrees with the ID stickler - even though he has never enforced the policy in class. Caught at a dead-end, I announce that the book is just not worth it and leave with a huff.

What ticks me off about the ID policy in general, other than its complete uselessness (another argument for another time), is its inconsistent implementation. You can't expect students to have their ID on at all times, so I respect the school's authority to press the policy when it's noticed that someone is not wearing their ID. But the problem is that most teachers don't care. Certainly most of mine don't. I've been ID-less many times and no one has hassled me, so I've fallen out of the habit. And now, I've been a victim of this lax enforcement.

Since I'm a senior, all I can do is seethe and stew in my own woes, hoping that at least next year there can be a little more uniformity in the policy - and a little understanding as well. Obviously, there's no use in hoping for the abolishment of the ID policy, but it would be ideal if every teacher and administrator would enforce the requirement, that way incidences like mine can be avoided. But if the student has legitimate problem with your request, particularly a generally subordinate one, listen to them. Let them off with a warning. Show a little humanity, please.