By Marta Bazdekis
This September, something changed the feel of our campus. It wasn’t the improvements to the football field or the turf bowl that made the difference. It wasn’t even the new benches and tables in the quad. The addition of barricades along the road in front of the school is what made the difference. Salmon color barriers now line the sidewalk in front of our brick and cream color buildings. They may not look appealing, but they play an important role in keeping students safe.
With senseless acts of violence seemingly becoming more common in schools, businesses, parks, and other locations around the country, it’s easy to understand the decision to install barriers. Even though they look like stitches on the face of our beautiful campus, students and teachers alike appreciate them. In fact, they have become a welcome addition to the turf bowl, where they have stopped many soccer balls and footballs from bouncing into the road.
Ms. Geraldine Winterroth, high school science teacher, expressed one of the possible benefits of having them. “They might deter a car from plowing into a group of students, [and] give the kids time to run.” Whether intentional, or due to mechanical failure, everyone can agree on their value there.
A strong believer in enhancing the safety of the students, Ms.Winterroth added that she would favor additional measures “to protect the quad.”
Irvington High School is not the only school in which barricades are a fact of life. In New York City they have appeared ever since September 11. One such school is the Léman Preparatory School located in the lower Manhattan Financial District. I recently interviewed Pilar Ocasio-Douglas, the Léman Community Association President, who says that barricades are an important safety factor in their school.
She stated: “[Our barriers] have been designed by architects and artists so they are tasteful, allow for children to climb or people to sit on them and have encompassed outdoor movable chairs and tables so that tourists or workers in the area can sit and enjoy the beautiful neighborhood or have a coffee break. The children love to climb all over them and it is almost a rite of passage when a kindergartener is able to climb on one alone without the help of a parent!”
The barriers in front of our school are now a welcome part of life. Like at the Léman School, they have blended into the scenery, become a place for students to sit, a goalie for misguided kicks, and peace of mind for all of us.
