Students who traveled for Thanksgiving report few complaints with new security measures

The five-second scans, which allow agents to see under the clothing of travelers, were first used in the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in 2007.

After a review of security measures following the failed underwear bomber last Christmas, the TSA determined that further measures were needed to detect plastic explosives. In that incident, Umar Abdulmutallab attempted to assemble such an explosive device on a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit after passing through airport security with the bomb materials concealed in his underwear.

Sankalp Gosain ’11, who flew to Milwaukee, Wisc., for Thanksgiving, described its body scanners as “ostensibly very noninvasive.” He also said that the TSA was well-staffed in preparation for the holiday.

Although federal officials said that only 1 percent of people refused the full-body scans, two different parties initiated campaigns to encourage travelers to participate in a National Opt-Out Day on Nov. 24, intending to slow down security by refusing to enter the scanners and opting instead for a pat-down.

Protesters say the measures violate privacy and subject passengers to harmful radiation. The TSA maintains that passengers encounter a negligible amount of radiation.

California native Kristen Kruger ’14 said she disagreed with the opt-out campaign. She questioned, “Are your rights really being violated in such a way that you’re unwilling to be protected by your government?”

“Besides, the pat-down procedure is so much more invasive than the scanner,” Kruger added.

Though the scanners have been installed at many airports in recent weeks, they have not yet been adopted nationwide. TSA officials told The Associated Press last week that 411 scanners had been installed, with 540 more machines slated to be added by next year.

Some airports that had installed the scanners, including Newark Liberty Airport, did not use those scanners the day before Thanksgiving.

Gosain said the only dissent to the scanners that he witnessed in Wisconsin was from “a girl in the line [who] screamed out, ‘I don’t want to be a porn star!’ and everyone turned around and laughed.”

While Gossain said he did not mind the procedure, he questioned its effectiveness, noting that many tests found that the TSA’s equipment could not prevent people from bringing weapons onto planes.

Michael Cheng ’11, who flew to Fremont, Calif., for Thanksgiving, voiced a similar sentiment, saying that someone with a desire to sneak weapons and explosives onto planes will find a way to bypass the scanners, potentially by hiding items in body cavities.

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Cheng said he believes that a better screening method would rely on observing an individual’s behavior.

“Instead of spending a lot of time identifying items that are risky, we should identify people [that are risky],” Cheng said.

Similarly, Gosain pointed out the different but highly effective system used at Israeli airports, where security agents profile passengers to determine the level of security screening they must undergo.

Come Christmas, Cheng said he thought travel time will depend on how well travelers cooperate with the scans. If they are generally cooperative, he thinks that airports will be able to handle the traffic.

“Every time the airport has had to tighten security, there’s been a little uproar,” Kruger said. “But eventually everyone gets used to it. It’s just a dangerous world right now.”