Jan 11, 2008

Backpacks, purses banned at events

By Jimmy Durkin / MediaNews

The Oakland Unified School District has implemented a new policy that bans any backpacks, purses or fanny packs at all district sporting events, OUSD spokesman Troy Flint said Thursday.

The policy was implemented about a month ago, Flint said, and will be enforced at all middle school and high school sporting events, including Oakland Athletic League games. A flier has been posted on the OUSD Web site, www.ousd.k12.ca.us, to notify spectators.

"Safety is always a concern during regular class hours and also during extra curricular events," Flint said. "Certain events that have occurred in recent months forced the need for extra security measures."

There was a shooting just outside of McClymonds High School on Dec. 11, shortly after McClymonds beat Grant of Sacramento 67-56 in a non-league boys basketball contest. Three teenage boys, including a member of McClymonds' junior varsity basketball team, were injured in the shooting.

Castlemont Athletic Director Johnny Lorigo said the school received the policy notice from Vincent Matthews, the state administrator for OUSD, and the school began implementing it at Tuesday's OAL girls basketball opener against McClymonds.

All attendees at district home sporting events and their property will also be subject to a pat-down and search via a metal detector wand.

While the OUSD acknowledged there may be some inconveniences brought about by the rule, in particular at the 3:45 p.m. high school basketball games where students may not have the opportunity to discard their backpacks, Flint said they were superseded by the safety concerns.

"There's going to be an adjustment period, both for spectators and district officials, as we acclimate to new regulations," Flint said. "But any inconvenience that may be present is outweighed by the need for student and public safety.

"We're continuing to evaluate and are willing to adjust and refine (the regulation) to create a better experience for players and spectators."

Flint added that the "rules we implemented are largely the same as professional sporting events."

According to policies posted on the teams' Web site, the McAfee Coliseum prohibits any bags larger than 18-by-12-by-8 inches for Oakland Raiders games and bags larger than 16-by-16-by-8 for Oakland A's games. The Oracle Arena does not allow large bags, coolers or large backpacks at Golden State Warriors games, but does permit briefcases and pocketbooks.