In the middle of second semester, this school’s School Resource Officers (SROs) have been focusing on launching and improving upon pre-existing initiatives to aid with safety.

“So far this year, we’ve met with (several) safety committees,” SRO Blake Lytle said. “We have a teacher safety committee, as well as a student safety committee. We refresh on new needs and requests, and we make sure we’re keeping tabs on the safety issues.”

Lytle also said this school’s SROs draw ideas for safety issues to address from the student body.

“We’re always reevaluating our safety protocols here. Some of our students have spoken about safety in the hallways and just (hallway) etiquette, so we will be doing a public service announcement video with our students to prevent fights,” Lytle said.

Junior Anjali Prasad said she agrees with the SROs plan to address hallway etiquette, as it is a prevalent issue in her school day.

“Personally, I feel that [some students] don’t necessarily understand hallway etiquette at Carmel. When I’m walking through the freshman center in the morning after getting off the bus, it can be incredibly difficult to get to my class,” Prasad said. “It’s definitely important [for students to] get to our destination in the morning.”

Lytle said another of the SRO’s main concerns is addressing parking lot safety.

“The other thing we’ve been working on is (improving) safety in the parking lot,” Lytle said. “People will notice more staff there, directing traffic, and there will be more police officers in the lot as well. It’s just to encourage safety and responsible driving in the stadium as people leave.”