soccerstar
Okay I need advice about backpacks...Everyone at my school uses totes (which is what i'm using right now) and only the boys and geeky girls have backpacks. I have this backpack from elementary school and I was wondering if i would be okay to use at school...
This is the type of backpack...
http://www.shoedeals4u.com/images/shoes/large/TDN74BB.jpg
This is the pattern...
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/157/4/AAAAAmqRUQ0AAAAAAVdOGg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/jansport-ella-blue-square-laptop-tote&usg=__1AGY5eSES_DwjusmNBx2HSDO4W8=&h=230&w=230&sz=13&hl=en&start=192&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=t76fiGTcxnOLmM:&tbnh=108&tbnw=108&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djansport%2Bbackpacks%2Bbrown%2Band%2Bblue%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D180%26um%3D1
What do you think?? Thanks for your answers in advance!! :)
Answer
i think it would be fine. i had a totebag cause it was "cool" but all my stuff was always sticking out and there was no room half the time. so i went back to my plain black jansport
if anything, just get a plain black or plain navy blue jansport. in my school any "cool kids" that have a backpack use one of those
i think it would be fine. i had a totebag cause it was "cool" but all my stuff was always sticking out and there was no room half the time. so i went back to my plain black jansport
if anything, just get a plain black or plain navy blue jansport. in my school any "cool kids" that have a backpack use one of those
New bulletproof backpacks: would you buy one?
deckels
Here's an article about two Boston dads who invented (and are selling) a $175 backpack with bulletproof metallic insert to keep their kids safe at school. A good investment?
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=1016084
Answer
Buying this product would be a horrible idea.
You'd be benefiting a greedy manufacturer who intends to exploit the fear of parents by selling a product of questionable utility.
How can the armor material be a 'secret' and also meet NIJ standards? It's unlikely to have passed NIJ testing since there's no mention of 'MJ Safety Solutions' or âMy Childâs Packâ in the database of tested products. NIJ has several standards in different areas a reputable firm would have specified the standard met and the independent testing agency that verified compliance. Even if they do show compliance with some NIJ standards, how are these standards applicable for a kid using this product?
The examples, comparisons, and quotes used in the article are disturbing and misleading.
âWe have tested and tested this product and we are very excited about it. We researched every school shooting since 1900 and found that our product is resistant to 97 percent of all bullets used,âResistant to 97% of all bullets used in school shootings is a long way from showing that this product would have saved any lives in those school shootings.
The backpacks werenât due to go on sale until the start of the school year but Pelonzi brought the release date forward to Friday, days after a Herald review revealed how more than 500 weapons were recovered from Bostonâs public schools in the past year.
Clearly Pelonzi sees the benefit of using fear to sell his product.
The backpacks, which will cost $175, have a super-lightweight bullet-proof plate sewn into the back which weighs no more than a bottle of water. Pelonzi said the material used is a secret.
The plate material meets National Institute of Justice safety standards, said Pelonzi, and during a three-year testing phase, stood up to bullets as well as machete, hatchet and Ka-bar knife attacks.
In this and other articles Pelonzi is trying to both claim his armor is light in weight and offers the same protection as a police officer's body armor. This is especially apparent in other articles where he compares the weight of police body armor to the backpack without acknowledging the greater coverage provided by police vests.
Think of how kids carry backpacks. How much protection will this thing provide slung over one shoulder? Even worn on both shoulders it would provide poor protection in a close-quarters gun fight. Is Pelonzi willing to demonstrate his product under those conditions? Let's see a video of test dummies optimally protected with backpacks being fired on by a single shooter. Even if you restrict the shooter to a fixed position and give him a limited time he'll likely do some serious damage to these poorly protected students.
âIt seems to me that it would not serve our district-wide dress code which says that students cannot wear anything which is threatening or offensive,â said Jonathan Palumbo, Boston Public Schools spokesman.
Palumbo's argument seems lame at first glance, what's offensive or threatening about an armored backpack? Isn't it purely defensive? The point he's making is a good one, a student with this backpack might feel sufficiently protected to confront a gunman and escalate a potentially violent situation that might have been brought under control by trained authorities.
My primary concern about this product is the false sense of security it provides students and their parents. A student would require a great deal of training and practice to make any use of this as a protective device. I suggest that time would be better spent educating students how to react to these situations safely without limited body armor. I wouldn't want any kid deciding to rely on this type of protection. I'd rather they acted smart and retreated in a safe fashion.
Buying this product would be a horrible idea.
You'd be benefiting a greedy manufacturer who intends to exploit the fear of parents by selling a product of questionable utility.
How can the armor material be a 'secret' and also meet NIJ standards? It's unlikely to have passed NIJ testing since there's no mention of 'MJ Safety Solutions' or âMy Childâs Packâ in the database of tested products. NIJ has several standards in different areas a reputable firm would have specified the standard met and the independent testing agency that verified compliance. Even if they do show compliance with some NIJ standards, how are these standards applicable for a kid using this product?
The examples, comparisons, and quotes used in the article are disturbing and misleading.
âWe have tested and tested this product and we are very excited about it. We researched every school shooting since 1900 and found that our product is resistant to 97 percent of all bullets used,âResistant to 97% of all bullets used in school shootings is a long way from showing that this product would have saved any lives in those school shootings.
The backpacks werenât due to go on sale until the start of the school year but Pelonzi brought the release date forward to Friday, days after a Herald review revealed how more than 500 weapons were recovered from Bostonâs public schools in the past year.
Clearly Pelonzi sees the benefit of using fear to sell his product.
The backpacks, which will cost $175, have a super-lightweight bullet-proof plate sewn into the back which weighs no more than a bottle of water. Pelonzi said the material used is a secret.
The plate material meets National Institute of Justice safety standards, said Pelonzi, and during a three-year testing phase, stood up to bullets as well as machete, hatchet and Ka-bar knife attacks.
In this and other articles Pelonzi is trying to both claim his armor is light in weight and offers the same protection as a police officer's body armor. This is especially apparent in other articles where he compares the weight of police body armor to the backpack without acknowledging the greater coverage provided by police vests.
Think of how kids carry backpacks. How much protection will this thing provide slung over one shoulder? Even worn on both shoulders it would provide poor protection in a close-quarters gun fight. Is Pelonzi willing to demonstrate his product under those conditions? Let's see a video of test dummies optimally protected with backpacks being fired on by a single shooter. Even if you restrict the shooter to a fixed position and give him a limited time he'll likely do some serious damage to these poorly protected students.
âIt seems to me that it would not serve our district-wide dress code which says that students cannot wear anything which is threatening or offensive,â said Jonathan Palumbo, Boston Public Schools spokesman.
Palumbo's argument seems lame at first glance, what's offensive or threatening about an armored backpack? Isn't it purely defensive? The point he's making is a good one, a student with this backpack might feel sufficiently protected to confront a gunman and escalate a potentially violent situation that might have been brought under control by trained authorities.
My primary concern about this product is the false sense of security it provides students and their parents. A student would require a great deal of training and practice to make any use of this as a protective device. I suggest that time would be better spent educating students how to react to these situations safely without limited body armor. I wouldn't want any kid deciding to rely on this type of protection. I'd rather they acted smart and retreated in a safe fashion.
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