Doors locked during day
Leaving through pool doors before or after school is difficult with rule enforcement
Students wait for their rides to come Feb. 11 at the circle doors. There is an overcrowding at the circle doors because of the pool and athletic doors being locked during school hours.
February 19, 2015
David Hope
With an increased crackdown on pass and door rules, second semester marked a change in enforcement of rules regarding door security, according to grade level coordinator (GLC) Joe Yaeger.
Signs are now prominently located on the pool doors, explaining they should not be used before or during the school day.
Yaeger said this change was motivated by an increased amount of safety for students, especially for females in the girls’ locker room near the pool doors.
“The biggest thing is the safety aspect, especially since the girls’ locker room is right there, so close to the pool doors,” Yaeger said.
This change, however, was not met with contempt from many students.
Freshman Malaika Bigirindavyi said she does not agree with locking the doors before school because of the hassle it causes her.
“My mom drops me off at the pool doors in the morning, because it’s close and I have to walk around the school in the morning, making me late to class,” Bigirindavyi said.
Junior Jarrett Walsh said he agrees with the change for security reasons, but that it is an inconvenience for students.
“I can see how it’s a good idea, but it’s also a lot harder for students to get around and be on time to classes,” Walsh said.
Although the school has an open campus to seniors, Yaeger said it’s still important they leave through the proper doors.
“Seniors still have to leave through the circle doors,” Yaeger said. “Closing the pool and athletic doors during the day has a direct correlation with the number of underclassmen leaving during lunch because GLC’s are able to stop them.”
Senior Nick Behnken said he feels this change makes the school less inviting for students.
“It makes (the school) feel like a prison,” Behnken said.
According to Yaeger, GLC’s posted in the B1 hallway are not only door monitors, and if students are found to be continually breaking this rule, there can be consequences with the school.
“Someone is posted in that hallway in the morning,” Yaeger said. “If it is a continuous problem, consequences can vary from ISS (in school suspension) lunch, and can escalate from there.”
