By Angelique Arenas, Moon News Cloud Contributor

Walk into an inner-city Pittsburgh school and the first thing you’ll experience are metal detectors and bag checks. You might not think twice about this because it is more common for an inner-city school to have these sorts of safety precautions than a suburban one.

But, just because these schools are in smaller towns with less crime, does not mean they are exempt from crime. And that leaves us to consider an uncomfortable question: Should all schools be required to have metal detectors? Should we stop worrying so much about outside crime and worry about student’s or intruders entering these high schools?

Franklin Regional High School is still reeling after one of its own, a student described as “shy,” went on a stabbing rampage with two kitchen knives, injuring 20 students, including a security guard before he was subdued.

At least 12 of those students were hospitalized with serious injuries, many with deep wounds.

With this information and the singular unfortunate fact that more and more schools are becoming targets for crime, it should become more common to add metal detectors and bag checks to high schools and middle schools. I believe it would benefit both students and parents to know that schools are going the extra mile to make sure all students and faculty are safe.

I know it’s not the site you want to see when you drop your children off at school and they are walking through metal detectors or getting their bags checked by security guards. Schools should be safe. Schools should be places where you drop your kids off and watch them run straight into their classrooms and high-five their friends on their way through the entrance doors.

As someone who has siblings in high school I would like to see these changes being made promptly. Some may argue that they live in small safe towns and crime isn’t an issue or concern, but the tragic event of Franklin Regional High School should raise awareness that schools aren’t the safest place for children anymore.

If being overly cautious means protecting the safety of children then we should go the extra mile and add alternate security measures to both private and public schools in inner cities and small towns.