Before the ring of the first bell on Monday August 29th, Archmere students already had a taste of stricter guidelines for the upcoming school year. On July 26, Archmere parents were hit with an email regarding uniform regulations for the upcoming school year. Traditional mandates like sporting the proper socks and tucking in the shirt were included, but one line in particular got students talking, “In an effort to promote the safety of our community members, ID Cards must be worn by faculty and students at all times while on campus.”. Traditionally, most Archmere students carry their lanyards comfortably in their hands or hang them from their backpacks. Many students even have their keys and wallets attached to their photo IDs. But according to school disciplinarian Mr. Nowaczyk, this seemingly harmless habit might have more ramifications than students would expect. 

Mr. Nowaczyk defines Archmere IDs as “our safety strategy”, thus making it integral that students have easy access to them at all times. “Because enforcement was loose, students were not placing a priority on having their lanyards, so there was a large number of students taking out ‘temps’ and without any ID on them” reports Nowaczyk. While many students would argue that simply holding their lanyard would promote safety just as much as wearing it around their necks, Nowaczyk disagrees: “I would have to walk up to every student and say ‘show me your lanyard.’” This is the tact administration attempted in years past, and Nowazyk notes that it had “poor results”. 

If students should fail to follow these stricter guidelines, Mr Nowaczyk says they will experience “to quote Clever Lang, ‘pain’ …and points.” Unless you’re interested in those two things, wearing your lanyard might be the best option. Nowazcyk sees this new safety development as a positive step for the Archmere community, saying, “The word crackdown seems so negative. By wearing their ID, students are telling us that they’re on board with our safety protocol.”