Students protest backpack rule in Wissahickon

The leaders of a student group at Montgomery County's

» READ MORE: Wissahickon High School

that opposes a new rule requiring backpacks worn inside the school to be made of mesh or clear plastic won praise from the school board and administration at a board meeting Tuesday night, but got no change in the policy.

The students vowed to continue the fight; they are calling for a "Day of Silence" on Sept. 12, when they will refuse to talk during classes. The board agreed to take another look at the policy after school starts.

The new rule was part of a 13-page list of school safety recommendations released in July by a school safety task force convened by Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. Several other Montgomery County school districts already either require see-through backpacks or have banned backpacks altogether from school hallways.

Principal William Hayes decided over the summer to implement the clear or mesh backpack policy, saying that while it was not a surefire way of keeping weapons out of the school, it would "make kids think twice" about bringing contraband into the school.

The move unleashed a wave of protest from students who formed an online group calling itself "Hell No I'm Not Wearing a See-Through Backpack."

With about 10 supporters in attendance, Joe Salvo, a sophomore at the Lower Gwynedd high school and a leader of the protest group, told the school board that "these backpacks are seen by many students as an insult."

He added: "In our opinion, clear backpacks are just the first step down the long road of personal freedom and individuality being eroded in the name of security."

Danielle Cappello, a junior at the high school, told the board that "to be completely fair," the same rule should apply to school staff. In an interview, she said: "They're saying it's a danger for a student to walk into the school [with a cloth backpack], but staff can do the same thing. As long as we're required to do this, I think they should bring them in, too."

Several school board members were sympathetic. Frances "Boo" Crofton told the students that when she was younger, she had "to carry a clear purse on a job I was at - and I really felt it was demeaning - it was to prevent shoplifting." She added: "I am concerned about what it feels like, and especially what it feels like to an adolescent, to have their life exposed in that way."

Board member Betsy Cornish told the students that she was worried about their lack of privacy and she didn't see the clear backpacks as keeping weapons out of the school. But "I am reluctant to countermand a policy, a recommendation, that comes forward from the administration," she said.

The board promised to take a look at how the policy is working in a month's time.

In an interview yesterday, Wissahickon superintendent Stanley Durtan pointed out that "other school districts that have adopted the policy are finding it to be a very small concern; I'm confident that will be the case over time in Wissahickon."

But, he added that "if it's not, we'll look at it again, and find other ways to deal with our safety concerns."