Beginning on April 14, the music wing doors at Libertyville High School, closest to the main parking lot, began staying locked until 7 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and until 8:20 a.m. on Wednesday late starts. This is a change from the past, when the doors were unlocked at 5 a.m.
Although the band doors are now staying locked later into the day, all other doors will continue to be unlocked at 5 a.m. according to security guard Ms. Joan Boro.
The switch occurred as a way to streamline and minimize the time the doors closest to the main parking lot were open, which, according to Boro who is now has the job of greeting students at the music wing entrance after 7 a.m., “was such a big window and such a big volume of people coming through.”
“We are always reviewing our system and our security procedures, the software that we have for different things,” stated Boro. “We are always meeting together and coming up with new things.” Boro also noted that there was no specific event that lead to this switch.
In addition to the music wing doors staying locked longer, students also may not press the security button near the band doors to be granted access before 7 a.m. Boro stated this is mainly due to the fact that it is difficult to keep track of who is entering.
Boro also mentioned the possibility of not being allowed to use the security button when arriving back from lunch release. As of right now, you may request entrance during lunch periods. “We are right now just not trying to shake it up too much,” she said.
“Say you and your friend are coming back from lunch, and you go to the band door,” expressed Boro. “10 people come running from the parking lot and they might just catch it in time.”
For some, the switch has been a major inconvenience. “I have CrossFit starting at 6:30 in the morning,” explained Senior Jordan Hertzler. “As a band student, it is very frustrating when I have to drop off my instrument and I have to walk all the way to the front of the school and the walk all the way back to the band room.”
Although this may be an inconvenience for some, Boro expressed, “We didn’t want it to be an inconvenience because for so many years people have been used to it being open…we’re here for safety and security.”
