Banning Bags

Drawstring bags were banned after spring break. First, it was backpacks, then any bags other than drawstring bags, and now finally drawstring bags, effectively completing the ban on bags.

As the threat of mass shootings, especially school shootings, increase, schools are forced to take preventative safety measures to reduce the chances of violence. This might be a possibility as to why the drawstring bags are being banned. Another possibility might be to stop students from bringing vapes to class.

Because we now have to carry all our materials around, we have to stop two or three times at our lockers each day to retrieve binders for our next classes. This, in fact, increases hallway traffic because students take more time to stop, put things away, and take other things out.

It is also very cumbersome to carry around binders and laptops with our hands, and students are constantly dropping things.

However, some students may still bring drawstring bags to school. After tote bags were banned, students still carried their supplies in them. The banning of drawstring bags may be an opportunity to reinforce the other bans on bags.

Similar bans have been passed in school districts across the country, and some schools have banned backpacks entirely. According to CBS News, “[h]istorically, the need to ban bookbags at the end of the year came out of the need to minimize pranks and disruptions. Now, it’s part of the discussion on safety”.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, as of April 26, 2023, there have already been 172 mass shootings this year. However, banning bags may not be the best solution. Amnesty International says, “The USA lacks measures such as a national firearm registry. Individuals can lawfully carry concealed firearms in public in every state in the USA and can lawfully openly carry firearms in public in most states. However, there is no nationwide uniformity in laws governing the carrying of firearms in public, and in some states there are no laws at all: 12 states allow individuals to carry concealed weapons in public without any license or permit and 30 states allow the open carrying of a handgun in public without any license or permit.”