After graduation, students often start reminiscing about their high school experience. Student IDs are likely the last thing kids remember before entering their new chapter, but they are one of the most essential aspects of the high school experience. As soon as you step into a higher level of education, students have the responsibility of showing up with their physical IDs. Our school, Mountain View, however, has made a change by switching to digital IDs.

Everyone has their own preferences and opinions regarding this change. A few of the students from MVHS state that they prefer physical IDs over digital IDs. Victoria Norman, 12, said, “I don’t like the new digital IDs because they never load for me, and that’s the reason for me being late every time.”Another student, Kaitlyn Miclean, 12, said, “While the digital IDs are okay, they don’t load the fastest and it gets frustrating having to wait longer than needed just to enter the school, leading to me being late due to the internet.”

While digital IDs can supply us with easy access, the internet seems to slow students down from being in their classes on time. In addition to the subject of easier access, the students believe that since most high schoolers carry their phones around with them, our app Minga is convenient when it comes to IDs. The physical IDs, however, are much easier to lose.

Whether students are more inclined towards physical or digital IDs, they’re mandatory and keep our school safe. For example, when it’s time for a game, everyone’s excited and ready to shout, but who really is supposed to be there and who isn’t? “I believe IDs are essential for the school because they allow the staff to check who is coming in,” said Norman. “The IDs are important because to ensure safety, violence is all around us, and it’s best that we have our IDs to get into
the school,” Miclean said. Students with their IDs help our school regarding safety because not only are the students keeping themselves safe, but they’re looking out for everyone else with all the violence surrounding the education field.

Opinions about this change may vary between students, but whether the change was made or not, our school still cares about student safety. One of the primary ways to enforce this is through a thorough ID-check system, and whether it’s digital or physical, the idea remains the same: to keep us safe.