Michigan school bans backpacks as gun control measure

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ASPartOfMe
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02 May 2023, 8:22 am

Michigan school district bans backpacks, even clear ones, amid concern over guns

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Public schools in Flint, Michigan, on Monday began enforcing a ban on backpacks, even those made of clear plastic material, that was enacted over concerns about firearms, weapons and threats.

The prohibition, approved unanimously April 25 by the Flint Community Schools Board of Education, came after district officials locked down and then closed Southwestern Classical Academy for a day in April amid unspecified threats.

Last week, a high school student in Knoxville, Tennessee, was arrested after a gun he allegedly had in a backpack accidentally went off in a classroom, resulting in minor injuries for a teacher, authorities said.

Across the country, we have seen an increase in threatening behavior and contraband, including weapons, being brought into schools at all levels,” the district said in a frequently-asked-questions brief for parents.

“Backpacks make it easier for students to hide weapons, which can be disassembled and harder to identify or hidden in pockets, inside books or under other items,” it said.

The school board decided on a fairly straightforward backpack ban that prohibits those made of transparent plastic. The ban applies through the end of the school year.

In February, the district surveyed students, parents and staff members about limiting backpacks to clear ones. “This alternative does not completely fix this issue,” the district concluded, according to the FAQ.

“Weapons can still easily be hidden in clear backpacks," it said.

The new policy states that small purses for personal items, clear plastic bags for gym clothes and lunchboxes will still be allowed "within reason." They'll also be subject to searches, the 11-campus, K-12 district said.

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funeralxempire
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02 May 2023, 10:17 am

Backpacks are definitely the common element that connects all of the mass shootings. :nerdy:

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02 May 2023, 10:30 am

Get ready for students to arrive with wagons now that hold toddlers and bringing in suitcases to haul their books around and their binder.

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funeralxempire
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02 May 2023, 10:32 am

League_Girl wrote:

Get ready for students to arrive with wagons now that hold toddlers and bringing in suitcases to haul their books around and their binder.

Wait until they discover an AR-15 easily fits inside a guitar case. :lol:

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02 May 2023, 10:43 am

I think I'd just quit going to school - How I could carry 3-4 textbooks, notebooks, pens, paper, water, gym stuff and all the other paraphernalia would be beyond me. If schools have gotten to be so unsafe you can't carry anything in a bag...its time to close them down. Especially since you could easily carry multiple handguns, in your gym clothes, lunch bag, etc.

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02 May 2023, 10:48 am

DanielW wrote:

Especially since you could easily carry multiple handguns, in your gym clothes, lunch bag, etc.

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02 May 2023, 11:37 am

We carried candy in our socks ( you could fit a lot in a tube sock )so I’m sure a small pistol would also fit.

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03 May 2023, 9:09 pm

DanielW wrote:

I live in Michigan. I'm not in Genessee county though (where Flint is). I don't know how the Flint school district is doing financially, or how the students are, but I'd guess not great. I know in my county (also wrecked by the auto industry collapsing) that most schools don't have enough books for kids to be able to take one home anyhow. The students often don't have money for backpacks anyway, or notebooks, pens, gym stuff, anything really. If Flint is anything like my county, the teachers have to provide what the kids need anyway in their classrooms. The kids aren't really missing out by not having backpacks.

Not that I'm saying I agree with the call, just it's likely not going to be too problematic to most of the kids there for those reasons.

I'm also willing to bet that Flint already has things in place to 'help with safety' that don't do anything to help...like banning hoodies, cargo pants, and camo print clothing (because apparently that pattern makes weapons invisible or something and if you have no hoodie, you are suddenly more visible or recognizable?) I always thought that stuff was stupid, but it's pretty common in poorer communities to do that sort of stuff in schools around here. My county has metal detectors at the doors for kids to pass through. It's nuts. And stuff still happens. People always find ways to work around things. But I guess now the school district can sit back and say, "well we tried this, that, and the other, so you can't blame us." the next time something happens. I dunno. It's a mess here.

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04 May 2023, 1:23 am

How are kids supposed to carry all their things? Are they aloud some other kind of bag? When I was in school there were a lot of things that I had to carry in my backpack. Do they not use textbooks anymore? Even if they don't have to carry books, they would still need to carry papper, binders, writing implements, their lunch if they bring it, and all sorts of other things like jackets, gym clothes etc..

It also seems especially burdensome for kids with various issues that require them to carty extra things with them, especially if it is something embarrassing.

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04 May 2023, 1:27 am

Backpacks have been banned in the school district I attended since 1992.

And this was before the era of mass shootings.

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04 May 2023, 1:30 am

Tim_Tex wrote:

Backpacks have been banned in the school district I attended since 1992.

And this was before the era of mass shootings.

That's crazy, how did you carry all your things?

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04 May 2023, 5:01 am

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Michigan school bans backpacks as gun control measure

Sounds like a good idea.

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04 May 2023, 10:12 am

At first I was like "wtf, how they gonna carry books ?" But then I remembered this is 'merica and books are banned so as to streamline the school-to-prison-or-military pipeline w/o all that pesky book learnin' and critical thinkin' stuff wastin' time in the middle.

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funeralxempire
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04 May 2023, 10:14 am

Misslizard wrote:

We carried candy in our socks ( you could fit a lot in a tube sock )so I’m sure a small pistol would also fit.

Man, a tube sock full of candy would be a pretty handy bullybane. :lol:

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04 May 2023, 11:52 am

My High School tried to do a lot to reduce the chances of any sort of violence (building locked during school hours, classroom doors locked during classes, metal detectors etc.) but it was the people (students and staff) that were always propping doors and windows open, not following procedures, that made everyone less than secure. we had homeless people wandering in off the street to use the restrooms, steal food from the cafeteria, etc. Anyone could just walk-in. We even had our school safety officers leave loaded weapons in student restrooms. Its the people, not the systems that are the weakest links.

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04 May 2023, 12:41 pm

funeralxempire wrote:

Misslizard wrote:

We carried candy in our socks ( you could fit a lot in a tube sock )so I’m sure a small pistol would also fit.

Man, a tube sock full of candy would be a pretty handy bullybane. :lol:

Oh yeah, it was Now-&-Laters.The candy of choice.
We called them Nowerlaters.

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