Strict Struggles for Seniors

My frustration arose when I realized senior year had arrived, and school felt like pure prison. I understand the importance of students being safe.  However there is a fine line between the concern of safety and wanting to control everything.

I am 17.  I have gained many responsibilities as adulthood gets closer and closer. If I am expected to behave responsibly, similar to an adult, then why am I not treated like one? Shouldn’t there be the privileges, as well as the hard work and demands that go along with responsibility?

As an active participant in Lafayette athletics and activities, I have always enjoyed the high school experience. Now, I dread walking through the doors where I am required to sign in and report directly to class, with no consideration for my individual situation, or my past record of not causing problems.

Hallway sweeps are a new protocol designed to eliminate the unnecessary traffic in the hallway during classes. But there’s a problem with them: during lunch, I enjoy walking around with friends and catching up in a non-noisy cafeteria environment. Not disrupting anyone, my friends and I sit right outside the library. Within less than five minutes an administrator is asking us where we are supposed to be, what we think we are doing, and why we think its okay to sit and talk. Offended and taken off guard, I respond respectfully and slowly make my way back to the loud cafeteria.

Other times during lunch, I like to eat with one of my former teachers to discuss new classes, college plans, and sometimes the usual gossip. Almost everyday for three weeks, when exiting the cafeteria to go to one of these classrooms I have been questioned about where I was going. I answered the same thing everyday, “Ms.X’s class for lunch.” WHY am I required to explain myself when I already have permission from a teacher to be going to their classroom?

In my fourth block class students are allowed two bathroom trips a semester. Yes, you read that right: two times to the bathroom, the period following lunch, for a total of eighteen weeks. I can understand teachers not wanting students wondering the halls and socializing during important instructional time, but legitimate, short trips to the bathroom–especially after a meal?

A lot of people in the senior class are eighteen and graduating early. Teachers and administration want us to be prepared to handle sports, a heavy work load, and a social life yet they treat us like wayward children who can’t be trusted to judge when they need to use the bathroom, how to conduct themselves reasonably during lunch, etc. Why is it okay to be denied to use the restroom?

My frustration with this police-state-like situation has led me to request as many online classes as possible, and to be able to leave early in addition to a late arrival next semester.  I feel I have been robbed of my senior year. Any remaining privileges feel like they could be snatched at a moment’s notice with no good justification.

Bipartisan. Two parts. Possibly the solution. Uniting as one, students, faculty, and parents could form a committee to voice their concerns and opinions to improve the school community and its environment. There is no need to divide when the solution is simple; unite as one while having two parties with an interest in the outcome. I hope to see improvement in our school’s administration and policies for future students, especially seniors, and I respectfully suggest that such a committee is called for as a pathway to that end.