Trapped in 2005?

Alright, this is going to sound like old news, but bear with me.

So, as we all know, since a few weeks after the civic unrest/race
riot of 2005, we need to show little plastic cards with our picture on
them to a guard each time we enter onto campus. This is done to
promote our safety, and to prevent people who don't belong on campus,
like 30-year-old felons, from sneaking on in the guise of earnest
students. While this is not especially likely, it is easy to see how
certain Santa Monica parents would enjoy the extra safety, especially
if they're the type who don't leave the house except to buy marijuana
and Ovaltine. Anyway, this is the underlying principle behind the ID
card. We also have to make sure fools from Malibu don't try to come
see Kanye. Bitches.

So why is this even worth discussing? The ID card is detrimental for
a few reasons that might not seem immediately apparent. First of all,
it does nothing to alleviate the feeling many have that school is
nothing more than prison with training wheels and more expensive food.
This is especially problematic given the the gate guards don't even
look at the card. I know; for the past few weeks I've been flashing a
"Saint Expeditus Trading Card" rather than my ID, and have had no
problems getting on campus. However, in the rare instances that the
absence of an ID card is detected, there is a host of pointless
punishment and enough paperwork to get any student caught by the
tardy-police. There is no reason to punish someone for forgetting
their ID, as I will bet the legs of my first-born son that nobody
forgets their ID in a brave attempt to fight the system; instead it is
usually due to something like changing one's pants hastily.

Most importantly, the ID card poilicy prevents our school from moving
forward and away from the issues of the past few years. We have been
through some rough times as a school, and have changed because of it.
The school I see today is not the school I went to before the 2005
civic unrest/mega-brawl. It is not the same school that it was before
Eddie was murdered. It has changed, possibly only in minor ways,
possibly immeasurably, and needs to be allowed to change. Every time
we show our ID cards, we refuse to acknowledge how different Samo is
today compared to a year ago, and two years ago. We have a new
principal (who plays a mean guitar and doesn't look like Lord
Farquaad), and it seems to me that we're not in immediate danger of
another civic unrest/ big fucking fight. So why not let us try and
live like its 2007, and not 2005? Because when I think of flashing, it
sure as hell isn't my ID card...

You know the drill,

The Grip Doctrine.