Starting at the beginning of the school year, a new practice was enforced to increase security at the high school. Doors to enter the school will not open for student access until 7:25 a.m. From 6:15 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., doors will be opened temporarily to allow athletes in for strength and conditioning, but after that doors will remained locked until 7:25 a.m.

The goal of this change is to make the school more secure with hopes to discourage people who are not students or staff from wandering into the school. This new policy will also minimize the number of students who are unsupervised at school in the mornings.

However, students who have to be at school before 7:25 a.m. for classes, such as Park Singers, do not have a way to enter the building without walking around the entire building and entering through the emergency exit doors in the choir room. Also, students who enter the school early to take tests or meet early with teachers are forced to communicate with teachers about how to get into the school before the doors open. This can be difficult to organize, especially if a teacher has to let in numerous students at different times.

The editorial board believes the new door practice is unnecessary and avoidable. The editorial board acknowledges that security is a legitimate concern and believes this issue can be solved by having a staff member buzz students in from 7 a.m. to 7:25 a.m. Once it is 7:25 a.m., the doors should remain open until the school day officially starts.

Students come to school early with a purpose, whether it is educational or because of transportation issues. Some students only option is to arrive early via the city bus or parents dropping them off. It is unwelcoming for the school to be locked when students arrive.

With winter approaching and temperatures dropping, this problem will become increasingly prevalent and the school needs to make changes to this practice so students are not waiting outside before being allowed to enter.

The board also believes that if changes do not occur, this policy will need to be more publicized to increase student and teacher awareness.