近些年，美国校园枪击事件频发，令不少美国有关部门思索，该如何确保在校学生的安全。近日，密歇根州弗林特市给出的办法是：禁止背包。
A school district in Michigan has banned all backpacks from school buildings, in response to growing safety concerns.
据美媒报道，密歇根州弗林特市学校教育委员会发布了一项禁令，禁止学区内的公立学校学生使用背包。禁令已经于5月1日生效，有效期直到本学年结束。
Flint Community Schools announced last week that backpacks would be banned and the ban would be in place for the rest of the school year. The new policy went into effect on May 1.
学区负责人凯文·琼斯在该学区网站上发布公开信，详细解释当地的“背包政策”。
琼斯在开头就说道：“我们正尽其所能，为学生、家庭、教师和职工创造一个安全有保障的环境。”
'We are doing all that we can to create a safe and secure environment for our scholars, families, teachers and staff,' Superintendent Kevin Jones wrote in a letter posted on the school district's website.
琼斯称，为了达到这一目的，大家做出了艰难的决定：自5月1日起，禁止学区内的学生携带背包进入学校建筑。这一政策将贯穿整个剩余学年。
Effective Monday, May 1, scholars districtwide will not be allowed to bring backpacks into Flint Community Schools buildings. This policy will be in place through the remainder of the school year.
至于学生该如何携带所需物品，琼斯写道：
装有个人物品（卫生用品，钱包，钥匙，手机等）的小手包，装有运动服的透明塑料包，以及饭盒都是可以带的，只不过这些“包”都需要经过检查。如果学生背包入校，他们会被送到办公室联系家长或监护人，然后把物品取走。办公室不会保存这些物品。
Small purses with personal items (i.e., hygiene products, wallets, keys, phone, etc.), clear plastic bags with gym clothes, and lunchboxes will be allowed within reason. These bags will still be subject to search. If a scholar brings a backpack to school, they will be sent to the office where they will need to call a parent or guardian to pick up their belongings. The office will not hold this property.
琼斯谈及原因时写道，全美出现了越来越多的危险行为，其中就包括校园案件中被带入学校的武器。“而背包令学生更容易藏匿拆装的武器，也让藏在口袋里、书本里的武器难以发现。透明背包并不能完全解决这一问题。所以，通过禁止一切形式的背包，以及增加安保力量，我们可以更好的控制进入教学楼的物品。”
Backpacks make it easier for students to hide weapons, which can be disassembled and harder to identify or hidden in pockets, inside books or under other items. Clear backpacks do not completely fix this issue. By banning backpacks altogether and adding an increased security presence across the district, we can better control what is being brought into our buildings.
2022年5月30日，在美国得克萨斯州南部尤瓦尔迪市发生枪击事件的小学，人们悼念遇害者。
琼斯称这是个艰难决定，但是会立即带来好处，让“我们拥有本来就应得的安全”。同时，这一政策也得到了教育部门和警方的批准与支持。琼斯也承认，这些禁令会对学生家庭的日常行为产生影响。但是为了校园安全，“我们认为这是最佳办法”。
This is a difficult decision, but it is one that will immediately benefit our district and the safety of those we serve. This has been approved by the Flint Board of Education, the district’s administration and principals, with support from the Flint Police Department and other safety advocates. We have thought long and hard about this decision, knowing that it will impact how scholars and families prepare for their days and operations in the classroom. However, based on the issues we continue to see across the country regarding school safety, we believe that this is the best solution for those we serve.
据《纽约时报》报道，这一学区大约有2800名学生，有些家长和专家对新政策持有怀疑态度（skepticism），认为如果真有人想携带武器进入学校，藏在衣服下面也是一样的。
而弗林特地区的“一刀切”措施的背后，反映出的是美国校园枪击案件的巨大影响，以及控枪不力的后果。《纽约时报》的报道指出，2021年，距离弗林特30英里的牛津就发生过高中学生开枪打死4名学生的事件。
报道称，随着越来越多的枪支暴力摧毁美国校园，以及总统宣称自己无力防范相关事件，一些“七拼八凑”简单措施就显得更加重要，比如要求背包透明，或者索性禁止一些背包等等。
As surging gun violence continues to devastate American classrooms and the president himself declared that he was powerless to prevent it, a patchwork of simple measures, including policies requiring clear backpacks or banning them altogether, have taken on heightened significance.
2018年4月2日，美国佛罗里达州帕克兰，马乔里·斯通曼·道格拉斯高中外，学生们背着透明的背包。这些书包是该学区在学校发生导致17人死亡的枪击事件后采取的一系列安全措施之一。
美国其他地区也在推出类似的背包禁令，比如佛罗里达的奥卡拉，此前当地一名学生将一把看上去很逼真的玩具枪带到了学校。
Backpack bans have been rolled out in other communities recently, including one put in place this week at an elementary school in Ocala, Fla., after a student brought in a toy gun that looked real, a spokesman for the district said.
此外，报道援引2022年美国国家教育统计中心及美国司法统计局的报告，数据显示2020-21学年美国共发生93起校园枪击事件，是2000-2001年以来最多的。
A 2022 report from the National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics recorded a total of 93 school shootings during the 2020-21 school year, the highest since 2000-01.
综合来源：ABC News，纽约时报，央视新闻
联系客服
