For the past year, entrance into lunch has been granted by a simple flash of a student’s ID, yet a policy put into place Monday, Mar. 18 has raised eyebrows. Instead of a student showing their ID to get into lunch, a new scanning policy will require one’s ID to be scanned in order to gain admission into the cafeteria.

“Overall, we want to ensure that students are wearing their IDs and have their IDs on them at all times,” William Heimann, dean of students, said. “It’s just important to us as a school.”

But this swipe system is not just for checking into lunch, it will also be used as a way to monitor student activities.

“There’s also other capabilities through the swipe system that we can make sure that students are attending the correct lunch, as well as if a staff member has to see a student for whatever reason, if a student was assigned a detention,” Heimann said. “The swipe machine has the capability of having an alert as well as track students for safety and security.”

The ability for alerts and desire to track students arises from multiple parent phone calls made to York asking if their child had been present at school that day and where their student may be.

If a student does not have an ID, they will be directed to buy one at student services. If they don’t have money to buy an ID, there is a chance their account will be charged to pay for one.

Despite increasing security regarding the whereabouts of students, many students are concerned about the logistics of the new lunchroom rules. Students enrolled in AP science classes, and other advanced classes are primarily concerned with the impact of the new swipe system on their time to eat lunch, as many have lunch labs to attend for half the period on designated week days. Student Council members share similar worries.

“I’m not too thrilled about it because it is going to be a ton of kids funneling into one single line,” junior Ari Denning said. “It’s going to take forever, and, honestly, if you have a lunch lab you’re not going to have time to eat lunch. What happens if you happen to forget your ID one day? Do you just not eat your lunch?”

Additionally, many students are bothered by the thought of a wait time to get into lunch.

“It will make getting into lunch slower, less efficient, and it will take a lot longer,” sophomore Lucy Valeski said. “People who don’t have their ID on them or forget their ID at home won’t be able to buy a lunch or get into lunch.”

However, the administration plans on making this transition as seamless as possible while students adjust to the new policy.

“We’ll work through any kinks that might come up,” Heimann said. “We do take into account that time is a huge thing for folks who have [Student Council] or labs. We absolutely respect the things that students need to do everyday every period.”