Were Backpacks Banned After a School Shooting?

　　Students in Idaho used snow sleds, grocery carts, and laundry baskets to carry their books following the backpack ban.

　　Recently, four schools in Rigby, Idaho, banned backpacks from their halls after a 13-year-old student was found with a gun in hers.A spokeswoman for Jefferson School District 251, said this rule applies to Rigby Middle School, Farnsworth Middle School, and both Rigby and Jefferson High Schools.“Elementary schools will still be able to have backpacks,” “We are doing this as a precautionary measure.”

　　I keep seeing a few random TikToks featuring middle and high school kids carrying their books in random objects around the school.

　　At first, I thought it was a homecoming tradition that they had made up. The videos show students carrying their belongings in the halls in laundry baskets, shopping carts, a sled, and even a kayak! After looking into why this is happening, the story gets a bit grim.

　　In May of this year there was a school shooting at a middle school in Idaho. A sixth-grader shot two students and a janitor as the school year was ending. All victims survived, thankfully. As the new school year began, a student was found with a gun hidden in their backpack in the bathroom. After it was confirmed, the school went into lockdown. Hours later, the school board made a fast decision to ban backpacks. The backpack ban was for both middle schools and high schools in the area.

　　The issue of banning backpacks due to the possible scenario of carrying a gun is certainly warranted. I understand the thought process of banning a backpack, but there are other places to hide and carry a weapon. The students, of the schools, decided to find a way to carry their things, but not use a backpack. Therefore, we get entertaining TikToks to watch these students carrying their things in non-backpacks! The creativity of these kids and their new fancy "backpacks" is hilarious

　　Maybe this little event could be turned into a time of learning. Perhaps other schools could adopt it as a day to help raise awareness of gun safety with students of all ages. I will note that after researching this whole story, there are schools that do use this as a day to celebrate school spirit week.

Boredpanda 2021, boredpanda Home page, October 2021, boredpanda.Available from: https://www.boredpanda.com/school-backpacks-ban/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic. [17 November 2021].