OpinionsEditorials

Scanners and pat downs are ineffective

The holiday season means one thing for people who travel on airplanes: long lines at the airport. Recently however, it has also meant a very invasive security checkpoint for those trying to get away on holiday.

In the past people saw it as an inconvenience just to have to take off their shoes, but now the inconvenience has reached a whole new level.

The Transportation Security Administration has now begun to enforce the random body scans and pat downs that have dominated the news media in the past months.

If someone refuses to do a body scan, which shows an image of what is underneath your clothes, the defiant must get a pat down from head to toe.

Many people have not taken well to this idea, including a Facebook page to discuss the negative aspects of this seemingly invasive process.

While it is necessary to have security measures to protect us, having such extreme forms of security may be a bit much.

These “random” scans and pat downs are only being enforced at 70 airports across the country.

If they are really going to enforce these security measures they should be done in every airport.

The scanners are also costing the taxpayers a lot of money.

With a price tag of $150,000 for each scanning machine, the TSA has spent a total of $75 million in taxpayer dollars to give travelers a sense of security.

The TSA should not be spending this much money on something that to this point has been ineffective.

Airport security has not captured one alleged terrorist or any person trying to do harm to the American people while using these scanners or pat downs.

These security measures are mostly being done for domestic flights because of fears over 9/11.

However their focus is not in the right place.

The TSA should put all of its security efforts into flights coming in from other countries where there are known terrorists.

Further tainting the reputation of the scanners is the lack of privacy they created when the x-ray images which were leaked online.

The images of that come from the scanners are supposed to be disposed immediately after the person passes through, but recently many of the images have been leaked to gizmodo.com.

Having these images end up where they are not supposed to is an invasion of privacy and it is unacceptable.

If these people are going to be looking at our bodies underneath our clothing, the least they could do is their job and dispose of the images as they should be.

The safety of the nation and its travelers is important and should be the main concern of the TSA and the government, but there has to be a more efficient, cost effective and less invasive way of making sure everyone lands and takes off safely.

Other Stories

Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

Previous article
Debate: It’s the art and sport of persuasion
Next article
Commercial space is not necessary

Latest Stories

Related articles

Editorials

Gender neutral passports are a positive change

The time for gender neutral passports is finally here. The Department of State announced that people can have a passport issued with an “X” gender marking, signifying an unspecified or other gender, starting April 11.
News

Photography exposes the truths of war and loss

Shannon Benine, professor of photography at the University of La Verne, shed light on the state of war in our country through photographs she captured during the faculty lecture Tuesday in the Quay Davis Executive Board Room.
Editorials

U.S. should take responsibility for Afghan refugees

In the frantic final days of the United States’ withdrawal from Afghanistan following 20 years of war, American troops helped evacuate about a half million refugees, mainly Afghan soldiers and civilian contractors, along with their families.
LV Life

Recent grad inspired by solo travel

Not all students jump right into the workforce after graduation. Joshua Cruz, who earned his bachelor of science in business at the University of La Verne in January made sure to fulfill his dream Joshua Cruz earned his bachelor of science in business in January. Following graduation, he took a solo back packing trip to Thailand. One of the only setbacks Cruz faced was losing his Nikes at a hostel. To replace them Cruz bought $4 knock-off-Adidas. / photo by Corney Mace of traveling abroad. “I cannot just sit behind the desk and do all the paperwork. ... for the rest of my life,” said the 22-year-old from West Covina. Cruz saved nearly $3,000 while working as a server at Red Robin – for a trip to Thailand.