"THEY HAVE MONEY FOR METAL DETECTORS BUT NOT FOR BOOKS"

"We felt institutionalized. It's like a prison," said Anthony Stafford, 17, a senior who helped organize a demonstration yesterday at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. Students say new metal detectors and lunch lockdowns make them feel like jailbirds.

New metal detectors were put in after what school officials said was a rash of weapons related incidents last year.

Students said the detectors delayed them from getting into the school, and a new rule keeping students inside at lunch caused dangerous overcrowding in the cafeteria.

Cecily Severe, 17, a senior, told the Daily News the three metal detectors can't accommodate the crowds and students are missing part of their first morning classes because of the logjam. "We need to come a half hour early just to get to class on time," she said. The student body numbers more than 4,600.

"The line for the girls was 200 yards long," said Fernando Reyes, 17, a senior. "If you got metal in your pockets they make you go to the back of the line."

Another student, Marleesa Lee, 17, a junior, told the Times, "They're treating us like prisoners.” She complained that the school had emphasized security at the expense of academics. "They have money for metal detectors, but not for books."

Saira Asif, 15, a junior, carried a sign that read, "This is school, not a jail."

At least 1,500 students organized by the group "Sistas and Brothers United" marched two miles to the Region 1 superintendent’s office where some protestors met with officials. Administrators met for about an hour with some of the students who had organized the protest and promised to install more metal detectors to speed up the lines. The students then went back to their classes.

The three-hour protest snarled traffic on streets between the school and the department's offices in Fordham Plaza.

The leaders of the protest promised to continue if some of their demands were not met. "They're going to compromise," José David, 17, who met with administrators, told the Times. "It's a process. We'll see what happens over the next couple days."

The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy reports ironically that a recent analysis by the National Crime Victimization Survey has shown that putting police officers in schools does not stem violence. In fact, the opposite seems true: Schools using security measures such as law enforcement agents and surveillance cameras were associated with increased reports of school violence and disorder, while schools relying on more participatory efforts to educate youth on school rules and appropriate conduct were associated with less reported school crime. Sources: 7Online.com, New York Times, News 12 (Bronx), New York Daily News, Drum Major Institute for Public Policy