To put a stop to the vaping problem GEHS has faced, the school installed detectors in the bathrooms. These detectors supposedly notify administration that there is someone vaping in the bathrooms.
“The vaping epidemic is very bad,” SRO officer Faith Jolly said.
Jolly believes that the detectors are helping to stop vaping from taking place in the school’s bathroom. While she thinks it’s stopping vaping from happening on school grounds, she knows that it does nothing to stop it from taking place outside of school.
“I think the [detectors] deter it a little bit,” Jolly said.
As for other options to stop vaping, Jolly thinks there are not any better ones. She explained that GEHS could have a clear backpack rule, but then the students would just have the vape on their person. She also said one solution could be having more teachers watch over the bathrooms, but that would be taking teachers away from classes or work they need to do.
“I’d say [there’s] no [other options]. I think if there is a will there’s a way,” she said.
Jolly also entertained the idea of having metal detectors as a way to solve the issue, but then explained that they would not be a good fix.
“Metal detectors are expensive and that would go off on anybody if they were wearing a belt. It would be time consuming and we don’t have the manpower for it.,” Jolly said.
Jolly believes that the vape detectors are as good as it is going to get. She then went on to explain that when the detectors go off, whoever is in the bathroom may be searched.
“If the detectors go off and anybody is inside [the bathroom] that is just reasonable suspicion to search the person,” she said.
When the detectors pick up on the smoke there is no sound, but a notification is sent to Jolly and some administration.
“We get a notification. [I get it], but I am not allowed to search people so I will bring it to one of the principals,” Jolly said.
Since vaping on school grounds is against school policy anyone caught vaping has to deal with the consequences.
“If it’s a nicotine vape it’s two days OSS and a $75 ticket from me,” Jolly said. “If it’s marijuana, its a mandatory court date and a ten day suspension.”
The vape detectors are doing their job and, according to Jolly, are catching people vaping in the bathrooms. For now it seems that the detectors are the best solution to the issue. So the money the school spent on the detectors seems to be paying off.
