My freshman year was one to remember; we were fresh out of COVID and everyone was back to attending school in person. This was so far my best year. Whenever I heard someone complain about our school, I would be genuinely confused as I hadn’t had any truly negative experiences. But with many of the changes that have been made over the past few years, it doesn’t even feel like a debate anymore; these claims are legitimate.
2021 was a challenging year for West. Our misdemeanor rates skyrocketed and we endured a community lockdown during the Mount Tabor shooting. With the way things were going it was pretty obvious we needed some restrictions. During 2022-2023 keypads and occasional metal detectors were enforced. This was already insulting to an extent but it made sense; a little extra security was needed if our lives could be at risk. I tried my best to find acceptance with the screenings, but I felt as if the teachers treated me as less than and coldly during the entire process. They stayed quiet and would respond bluntly to any questions or instruction. Instead of feeling like I was walking into school, it felt like a prison.
Besides safety precautions, bathroom logs were introduced and the doors to the bathrooms disappeared. These actions have been created to reduce the amount of skipping and smoking in our school, but they affect everyone. Our halls smell like the bathroom and it gives us less privacy. It makes it way easier for someone of the opposite gender to slip into the other restroom and now you can hear and smell everything.
This year has had its own changes, but to be frank they are just inconvenient and don’t make much sense. During lunch, some students will go into other buildings to use the restroom. I understand loud noise can lead to a disruption, but when we are encouraged to wait until lunch to eat, socialize and go to the bathroom there isn’t time to wait in a line. Having one bathroom available isn’t the biggest issue though, it’s because every single building is locked. If you left your computer or phone in your last class, that sucks for you, just wait until the end of their lunch to hopefully slip in. Or if lunch is the only time you have besides the middle of class to turn in a note, it’s on you. This enforcement has also made it hard for us to gather information we need to write our articles and for yearbook staff to get quotes. To gather quotes needed we have to have someone near their phone to let us back in once we text them. With that being said, what’s stopping other students from doing the same thing? This doesn’t fix the issue, it just causes inconvenience to everyone. Some students don’t have anyone to sit with or just enjoy relaxing in solitude but now they don’t have much of anywhere to go especially on rainy days since the library is off limits. If you have any business in the 500 building to take care of you have to walk to the front to deal with it, even when it’s raining. It’s just another degrading rule we have to follow because a few students use other buildings’ bathrooms.
The newest and most aggravating change at our school is the mirrors. Mirrors in the girls bathrooms have been removed after the painting renovations and they don’t seem to be coming back. While some teachers have claimed it was just for renovations, others have said they won’t be making a return as it is the main cause of skipping. This claim is so out of touch. Students aren’t skipping to look in the mirrors, they use them cause they are there. If people want to skip, they will, taking down a mirror won’t fix that but it will upset students. Mirrors aren’t just for admiring yourself or doing your makeup, they are also helpful to prevent embarrassing encounters. Period stains, food in teeth, wardrobe malfunctions, allergic reactions, rashes and dandruff are just a few things that we need a mirror to see and fix.
Overall this shouldn’t need to be a discussion; this entire procedure is dehumanizing. Our right to just look at a mirror has been taken away for no evident reason. Our student body shouldn’t have to suffer because some students don’t care about their education. Instead of taking away mirrors and doors, why don’t we give teachers bathroom duty to peek in to make sure everything is running smoothly? Why don’t we punish those who take advantage of the bathrooms and hold them back for their attendance, or call their parents? Why don’t teachers just hold the students accountable who leave the classroom for an excessive amount of time? We aren’t kindergarteners; the consequences we face should rely on our actions. This shouldn’t feel like a prison, it should feel like a community.
