Students vs. Lanyards: A Testament to the Power of Student Voice at AISG

Lower Secondary students work on an activity together with their orange around their neck, image from AISG Instagram page

The start of the school year is usually filled with new faces, new classes, and new opportunities. Yet, this 24-25 school year, students at AISG faced a key policy change: all students must always wear a lanyard with their ID around their neck, with it being orange or blue depending on whether students were in lower or upper secondary. This rule met significant pushback from students, who felt it was a burden, and more importantly, ineffective to its overall promises of safety.

With significant feedback from students, the rule was revised after the winter break, now allowing for more flexibility in ID placement, with the goal of finding a balance between security and student comfort. While students greatly appreciate and are relieved by this modification, the effectiveness of the policy is still being evaluated, with concerns about low participation in sign-in procedures making it uncertain whether further adjustments will be made.

First, it’s important to recognize the origins of this policy and the reasoning behind it. Ms. Eileen Rueth is the Dean of Students at AISG, and throughout the rollout and enforcement of the policy, she was the main propagator and enforcer throughout the policy’s rollout and enforcement.

Despite this, she explains that this was a decision made before she arrived this year, and that it was “a safety issue.”

She elaborates, “I was told that we needed to enforce [it] because… we need to know who’s on campus [and] signing in on the buses or on campus.”

When asked why this was necessary, she responded, “We need to know if they sign out of campus simply because we do have drills. We also have emergencies, [and] we need to be able to find students.”

She finally added, “I think a lot of the reason why we asked you to wear it on your neck is because of the color… [it] helps determine who has which privileges and who doesn’t.”

Despite this, students weren’t too happy about the rule.

Sava M., a ninth-grade student at AISG, shares his overall first impressions and opinions on the initial policy: “In the first semester, the lanyard rule felt strict but manageable. I didn’t like that it was uncomfortable… [and] it felt like homework that I needed to do everyday.”

Nevertheless, Sava uniquely shares that there were some benefits to the old rule compared to the new version. He explains, “While [forced to wear] lanyards on the neck, I never [forgot] my lanyard at home. But, after putting them in bags, sometimes, I forget [it] at home.”

“I [also] didn’t feel safer,” he added. “But it did make it easier to know new students a bit and make more connections [because] I could know their names and grade.”

Sava finished by making it clear that the cons overweighed the pros, and he was eventually glad to hear that the rule was being pressured to change.

Henry L., a tenth-grader at AISG who is secretary of the high school student council, shares his own opinions on the previous rule: “I felt like wearing [the lanyard] around our necks was highly unnecessary. There [were] other ways to achieve what the administration was trying to do (to recognize students’ grade levels for their safety).”

This policy change put student-leaders like Henry in difficult positions, where they had to relay messages from the administration while also having their own opinions on the matter.

As a student-leader, he was often the recipient of direct student feedback as well. He shares some of this process, “Students occasionally approached me about the lanyard policy, but I also felt like there was nothing I [could] do.”

Henry elaborates, “We [had] repeatedly relayed our concern to the administration, and the only thing we [could] do is trust that they are choosing the best option despite student feedback.”

As this policy affected students from grades 6-12, its impacts were even felt by the younger student body.

Jaden U., an 8th-grade student at AISG who is the lower secondary student council president, explains that he too faced many questions from different grade levels. He details, “They were questioning me if this was necessary and how it [would] benefit student life.”

Like Henry, he repeated  out the same explanation, “All I could tell them was that the student council would talk with the administration regarding this issue and update [the students asking] on any information.”

Jaden then explains that, like Henry, he was frustratingly forced to promote a policy that he disagreed strongly with. He elaborates, “My personal opinions diverged greatly from my actions. I thought this policy was unnecessary and it was quite bothering when I had my lanyard on my neck for the entire school [day].”

He puts it simply, “I thought this policy… had to be changed.”

He explains this from a practical perspective, “While this policy [seems to] ensure student safety, other than scanning into school and purchasing food or drinks, lanyards aren’t often used. Furthermore, it increased the risk of students losing their lanyards.”

Despite these strong feelings, Henry and Jaden still wore their lanyards faithfully, acting as the student-leaders they were elected to be, albeit requiring patience and hope that their concerns would be heard.

Sooner or later, their concerns began to objectify. Henry shares, “To be fair to [the administration], they did explore other options [throughout the first semester].”

Ms. Eileen reveals what alternatives were devised and discussed, “We had people come up… where they designed new [lanyard designs], all of which we were open to.”

Although it often goes unnoticed, Ms. Eileen did also have her reservations and gripes about the policy, and explains that some of the admin-student emotions was mutual, “To be honest with you, I hate wearing a lanyard around my neck.”

“I’ve always worn an ID on my belt. Typically, [most businesses require you to] wear an ID. But, they allow you to wear it on the lapel or [in other places]… I think [the lanyard around the neck] gets stuck in my necklaces, as well.”

But nothing ever got rid of the policy. Until January 7th, where students got back from a three-week winter break.

“I was like, it’s a new semester… and obviously there were some complications [with the old rule],” Ms. Eileen recalls. “So the student council came to talk to us about it [and] we discussed it in leadership meetings because we heard those concerns, and we just decided that it was a natural [time] to do it.”

Ms. Eileen shares more of the behind-the-scenes from an administrator’s perspective, “For those of us that were new, like Mrs. Marek [and I,] this [decision was made] before we came in. We were supposed to enforce it, so we needed institutional knowledge [to] understand the rationale behind it.”

“There’s a lot of back and forth and things like that that we considered in order to make that change,” she finished.

Sava noticed an immediate change after the rule change. He shares, “I think after the rule changed, students seemed more relaxed.”

Henry agrees, “I feel like the new policy is much better and a fair compromise and a step back for both the admin and students.”

 

Yet, when Sava was asked whether he still thought lanyards were useful even when not being worn around students’ necks, he responded, “Not really, lanyards are not really useful now because we just put them in bags.”

He adds, “I’ve never seen teachers asking for lanyards. We only use them for buying lunch and entering the school or bus.”

It is clear that this change was due to collective student effort. Jaden details, “If it wasn’t [for] the student’s voice and opinions, there would have only been minor changes of the policy. The voice of students was the trigger of change.”

Henry closes, “[This] is why I believe it is not the student council which has power, but the student body as a whole.”

Now, is this change here to stay?

The situation is still a little bit of a sensitive topic, and some would even say taboo. In fact, two faculty members were contacted to comment on their views on the policy, and they refused to comment with the excuse that it was too much of a sensitive topic.

Ms. Eileen’s answer is hopeful but clear, “It’s still under testing because the real problem is I just received a large list of kids who have been on campus and did not sign in.”

“People think that’s not a big deal, [but] it actually is… that is our primary issue.”

“But, hopefully, you know… please, you know, we don’t want to revert,” she clarifies. “We like the fact that you all do seem happier… we want you all to feel comfortable. We’re happy to do it, but we also do need to keep security in mind.”

Ultimately, this policy revision (though still being tested) reflects the power of student voice at AISG. While the future of the policy remains uncertain, one thing is for sure- at AISG, collective feedback can lead to meaningful change.

 

 

[IO1]maybe something else