In order to create a single point of entry at UC High, the San Diego Unified School District has hired contractors who are currently constructing a fence around the perimeter of the school for the safety of students and faculty.
According to a website that posts articles by experts on security measures, “There are many reasons why educational institutions should create a process for a single point of entry. Often, people who are not members of the school might need to enter the facility, such as parents, guests, or contractors. There may occasionally be unwanted intruders who might try to gain access to an institution” (securityreviewmag.com).
Principal Mike Paredes said, “It is not an ideal time. The construction itself is supposed to run for about two and a half months. The construction should be wrapped up by Halloween, the end of October. Had they started the construction earlier, while everyone was on summer vacation, it would have felt more ideal.”
Associate Principal Antwon Lincoln said, “The purpose of the fence, given what we know safety wise, is important. I understand the inconvenience, but you’re always inconvenienced until you realize how comforting the result will be in the event of an emergency. The hope is that you will never need to have that comfort.”
Paredes added, “When it comes to student safety and campus safety, I’m glad it’s finally happening…. I think there are going to be some folks within the UC community who are going to see the fence as an inconvenience; however, for the most part, the campus is going to remain the way it is. Students will be able to navigate through campus the way they always have been.”
School Secretary Tasha Forbes said, “I think the fence is needed. There are a lot of people that come on campus that shouldn’t be on campus. I do think that it’s important that we have one, and it’s not so much to keep students on campus but rather to keep other people off our campus.
Paredes said, “For the majority of the day, the student parking lot will be fenced off so there won’t be any through traffic. This also goes for the route that leads back to the supply room and the upper fields, which will also be secured. This makes it so students will be confined to the areas where we already have boundaries anyway.”
“I am aware that the architect tried to minimize the impact it will have on the way we normally function. The big difference is that rather than having families have the ability to enter on the backside of the administrative building or allowing folks from the outside who shouldn’t be on campus just to pull into our fields, they would instead have to go through the main office,” said Paredes.
“So it will make it easier for us to make sure that our school is safe, that anybody who needs to come on campus has a purpose to be here. The main point of entry will be the single office door at the very front of the school once school has started and the gates are secured,” said Paredes
UC High is one of the last schools to have a fence implemented on our campus. Lincoln said, “It’s good to have the first world problem of inconvenience, because the reality of it is, I wish we could go back to the way it used to be. But we now know, in the world we live in today, high schools are not always safe.”