The second your foot hits the concrete school parking lot, a vital part of your identity must be shown by hanging loosely around your neck. The notorious assorted colored necklaces now have a certain grasp on students, and all the commotion is centered around a rectangular card that reads student’s name, grade, and yearbook picture. From stepping onto campus until being seated back in your own vehicle, this new necessity must be constantly worn at all times. The raging tweets, Snap stories, and all other social media sites affiliated with high schoolers are 90% centered around the latest and greatest accessory given to students: the infamous lanyard.  

Safety, an extra precaution taken to protect the lives of students, a requirement that can’t be argued, name it what you will, but to most, the lanyard has become a symbol that stands as a strain on students’ freedom. It’s not a choice, it’s a requisite, which only makes melodramatic 16-18 year old teenagers want to defy the indispensable safeguard that much more. It’s an embarrassment to some due to their unphotogenic picture placed squarely on their chest for all to see, and a fashion crisis to others because of the designated house colors assigned. The lanyard is not favored by majority.

In reality, the lanyards are meant to secure student protection, not worsen the struggle of daily high school life. The lanyards show teachers and administration that you are a student, you’re here because you have to be, you’re supposed to be. Because in today’s society, threats in schools are almost always caused from intruders. Har-Ber is just taking extra precaution to prevent any unnecessary issues. Complaining and ranting about having to wear it won’t help anything, no matter how much you think it will. It’s understandable that when so many of your fellow peers are strongly against the latest adjustments, it’s more than easy to just follow along and protest as well rather than dare to think differently. But, that doesn’t mean that’s the right thing, or that it’s okay, or that it’s going to solve the problem of having to wear it, because it won’t. No it’s not the prettiest thing to wear daily, and no it’s not convenient to have to remember, but seriously, there are far worse things to be constantly whining about.  

Considering the lanyards are provided solely for our benefit, they really shouldn’t be viewed as a punishment. It’s literally nothing more than an ID strung around your neck. Just wear the thing people.