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The ego and the id

From a memo distributed in October by the administration of Stuyvesant High School in New York City to students, staff, and faculty. Stuyvesant, located a few blocks from the World Trade Center, was evacuated after the September 11 attacks.

Q: Why do we need to wear ID cards in school?

A. Because every fanatic and every nut in North America has seen/heard/read about Stuyvesant since the WTC attack. We are THE high-profile school in America. We need to be able to identify who does not belong here at a glance.

Q: But unauthorized people could get into the building. Someone could find a card or make one.

A: Yes, it's true that the ID-card requirement is not perfect, but it is better than nothing. We can't just sit around and wait for something to happen before we say, “Gee, I guess we should have been a little tighter on security. I hope the parents of those fourteen kids who died and the thirty-seven who were injured understand about the sensitivity of Stuyvesant students to egregious burdens like wearing an ID card.”

Q: But we're just students. We don't look like terrorists. Why do we have to wear ID cards in school?

A: All terrorists do not look like Osama bin Laden. Let me repeat, every nut and fanatic has heard of Stuyvesant. Everyone who didn't make the cutoff on the test, everyone who is angry at his teacher, everyone who hates. Everyone. There are about a quarter of a billion people in this country alone.

Q: You fascist pigs with your Big Brother mentality are just trying to scare us. There's no real danger.

A: Are you for real? The biggest news event in the history of the world took place just a few blocks from us, and we were in the news frequently. There are bad people out there who believe that they will spend all eternity in heaven with seventy-two virgins if they can kill some of us while killing themselves. They really believe that. There are nuts who see Satan, there are an infinite variety of other kinds of nuts and wackos, and you think that you are above wearing an ID card while in school. We are in a war and this is a potential front.

Q: What happens to me if I don't wear my ID card?

A: The first infraction results in a call home. The second results in your sitting in Lecture Hall B with a security agent until your parents come to school. If we have to, we will write a letter about your disregard for the safety of other members of the school community and include it in your permanent record. Colleges will want to know about attitudes such as this.

Q: My ID photo makes me look like a dork. I'm embarrassed.

A: We will retake any photos that make you look uglier than you are and photos that do not show the new, mature you. Many of you have changed a lot since the eighth grade.

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SEE ALSO: Identification cards; Security measures; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001

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