Beginning at football games this year and continuing with basketball games in the gym, students have encountered strict security measures. Although MCPS has established no new regulations this year, security precautions have been more actively enforced and is a direct result of security issues game to game.
During this year’s football season, it was not uncommon to be directed to leave a bag outside or at the entrance of the stadium. The obvious reason for this precaution is to discourage the consumption of alcohol or use of illegal substances on school grounds.
According to Athletic Director James Meehan, the level of security at the gates is strongly impacted by the knowledge of behavior issues on that specific day, as opposed to major precautionary changes as a result of specific incidents, as no major incidents have occurred this season.
"There was a game, middle of the season, where it was reported by parents that students were drinking something out of red cups in the parking lot. As soon as I heard this, I sent a police officer and MCPS staff security down to check it out. They found nothing, but at that game the people working the gates were more diligent. If something looks suspicious, an adult will deal with it. Just because a policy is enforced does not mean the policy has changed," says Meehan.
As of now, the security precautions that are planned to be implemented in the upcoming basketball season do not differ from last season. Home team and visitor fans are separated on separate sides of the court, and there is always at least one police officer, one administrator and one MCPS security staffer at each game. In addition, a fan may not leave the building and expect to be able to come back in.
In this time of financial woes and budget cut-backs, sports programs are especially susceptible to funding cuts. Any decrease in the sales of the concession stand as a result of fans bringing in their own food and refreshments, would only worsen the potential situation. According to the president of the Warrior Club, Steve Bolen, the concession sales last year were slightly more than $40,000, which represents more than 50 percent of the sports program’s total annual revenue, making the school’s athletes very dependent on concession sales.
"Profits from concession sales contribute significantly to the amount of money that we spend on Sherwood athletic programs. So lower concession sales means the Warrior Club will have less money to give back to the Sherwood athletic programs," says Bolen.
Student safety is always a top concern and discouraging students from drinking alcohol or other illegal behaviors remains a reason for enhanced security at sporting events. But in a continuing poor economy, making money through concession sales is also a higher priority.