After organising one of the largest youth-led movements in American history, the students of Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School say they have returned to classroooms that feel like "prisons".
Students are now required to carry clear backpacks following the horrific February 14 mass shooting which left 17 people dead.
Other security measures introduced by the school include requiring student ID cards to be visible at all times, restricting student entry points, and increasing the number of police on campus, CNN reports.
"If we are going to have more police officers at school, that only makes the problem worse. We are trying heal from the tragedy we experienced, but we’re being made to feel like prisoners," 17-year-old Kai Korber told Teen Vogue.
Following the shooting, the school's students fought back. They organised protests, starting with the March for Our Lives rallies last month and the #NeverAgain social media movement which has raised money to help fight for tighter gun control laws in the US.
The students have raised concerns about the school's new security measures.
An MSD student known only as ‘Robinson’ told CNN the students no longer had a "sense of normalcy".
"It feels like being punished… It feels like jail, being checked every time we go to school," she said.
Dozens of students have taken to social media to share their frustrations, particularly in response to the clear backpack rule.
Robinson felt the rules were counterproductive and an invasion of privacy, noting that the gunman was not a student of the school at the time of the shooting.
Sarah Chadwick, one of the students who led the #NeverAgain movement, tweeted: "Tomorrow we will have to go through security checkpoints and be given clear backpacks, my school is starting to feel like a prison," she wrote.
Lauren Hogg joked her new clear backpack was "almost as transparent as the NRA’s [National Rifle Association's] agenda".
"As much as I appreciate the effort, we as a country need to focus on the real issue instead of turning our schools into prisons," Ms Hogg wrote.
"I hate the backpacks, and I think they solve nothing," Student Alyssa Goldfarb told VICE.
Others pointed out it was an invasion of privacy, particularly for young girls who needed to carry pads and tampons, or for students who require medication.
It’s unclear whether students will be allowed to have a bag within their backpack to conceal personal items.
"Having clear backpacks not only make us feel uncomfortable but it also is not the solution to end school shootings and make our school safer," student Kali Clougherty said.
Cameron Kasky, one of the founders of March for Our Lives, felt the clear backpack rule was a "step in the wrong direction", but urged students to keep moving forward in their fight for tighter gun control.
However, not everyone supported the students' complaints about the new rules. Many were quick to point out clear backpacks had been used in a lot of US schools since the Columbine school massacre in 1999.
"We had clear backpacks in the early 2000s for this exact same reason … I don’t remember there being a big uproar about it. We just dealt with it and went on. Bigger things to worry about," Twitter user Shae wrote.
Requiring students to wear clear bags to school isn’t uncommon and the rule has been enforced in quite a few schools across the US in response to youth bringing weapons such as guns and knives to class.
They will hide weapons in books, clothes or instrument cases: expert
Safety expert and former police officer Michael Dorn said clear backpacks were not an effective method in preventing school shootings. Mr Dorn, the director of Safe Havens International told Racked students could easily conceal weapons in books, shoes, clothing or containers.
"We’ve assessed more than 6,000 schools; we’ve worked on over 300 catastrophic events and 13 active shooter cases. I say this to say that out of all that, I rarely recommend clear backpacks for K-12," he said.
"They [students] very typically just hide the weapon inside something in the bookbag. They take a book and hollow it out and put a gun in a book. This is not an anomaly. It’s a repeatedly used method. They buy all of these different containers and put the gun in there, or they put it in a tennis shoe or wrap the gun in their gym shorts. They get a rifle and put it in a musical instrument case."
Despite Mr Dorn’s scepticism about the effectiveness of clear backpacks, he understood why schools were so eager to change their policies after a shooting.
"Whenever we have some of these catastrophic events that involved a student, there’s usually a short surge of interest [in clear backpacks]. We see a lot of schools or districts do it for a while, but then the clear plastic ones tear apart. Also, unless you very much restrict what’s allowed in the backpack, like no textbooks, the clear book bag doesn’t have much of a purpose," he said.
We will adjust as needed moving forward: Principal
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Principal Ty Thompson has asked students and families to "be patient" with the new security measures.
"I realise some will want more and some will want less," he wrote in a letter last week.
"Hopefully over time, we will be able to fine-tune the process, while maintaining the safety/security."
He has since thanked those students who were seen to be embracing the clear backpacks rule.
"We will adjust as needed moving forward," he tweeted in response to students.
