“‘Wear your IDs! Wear your IDs! IDs!’ the screeching voices reverberate in our newly crafted hallways, the shouting commands us like we’re animals.”

But how does it feel to be on the other side of the matter? What is it like to be seen throughout the school as the mean and scary adult who yells at children all day long? It may seem like the students have been treated unfairly, but these hall monitors care for us much more than we realize.

It’s my job as a journalist to give the voiceless a voice, and right now these individuals are feeling pretty hoarse.

It all started at the beginning of the semester; a new district-wide policy urged that all students have their fobbed IDs with them at all times. This new rule seemed pretty simple: just wear your ID. However, this turned into quite the resistance from the student body—and the hall monitors pushed right back. Kids claimed they were yelled at, followed, and forced to get their badges by the monitors. Such a minor rule led to a maelstrom. The hall monitors were quickly established as the bad guys on campus, the watchdogs who continuously barked at anyone whose ID was not in plain sight. However, in reality, they’re only doing their job.

These monitors don’t want to be seen as the villains. They care for the student body and want to ensure everyone is safe. “Our job is to be looking out for the welfare and safety of students. We’re also here for kids that need a safe person or somebody to talk to,” said hall monitor Liz Puppie.

For hall monitor Joe Bahl, it is his first year at Broomfield. While he is one of the newest members of our school, he strives to create relationships with the students and to be seen “not as a threat.” It’s a difficult situation to overcome for someone just starting out. “Everybody’s got a different delivery in life…we’re as human as any child or adult here, and we make mistakes too,” said Bahl.

It’s important for us to realize that this issue is two-sided.

While the hall monitors might have been a bit stringent in their conveyance, we, as students, were not all that innocent. Frankly, we were immature and ridiculous. Instead of acting like young adults and complying to the new rule, we went right back to the second grade and whined until we were rewarded.

Liz Puppie spent $50 on candy out of her own pocket to give to those who finally wore their IDs after being asked time and time again.

We say we want to be treated like adults, yet we act like children in order to get our way. “It’s disappointing watching some of the youth in this building get side tracked and continue to go down that road. And it’s disappointing knowing that and the end of the day, you can’t make a difference,” said Bahl.

So why do we have to wear the IDs in the first place? “There are 1600 students here at Broomfield, and we don’t know every face no matter how hard we try,” said assistant principal Mrs. Barr. “There’s also substitutes, maintenance workers, and new adults in the building who have no idea who you are.”

How many times have you turned on the news and heard of another school shooting? Columbine, Sandy Hook, Marjory Stoneman Douglas… Broomfield? This system was put in place to keep our school off of that list. These adults aren’t making you wear your badges to torture you. There’s a reason for it—a very good reason. “It’s just a basic safety and security expectation,” said hall monitor Jennifer Dunn.

So the next time you’re asked to wear your ID and the angst inside of you is about to burst, take a second and realize what these hall monitors are doing it for you. This is not something to get worked up about and fight against. It’s not worth it. Notice what the reason behind it is, and see that these adults have feelings too.

“We rise with your successes and we fall with your failures. If you do good and then we do good. We care. We wouldn’t be doing this job if we didn’t,” said Puppie.