Source: Joel Vasquez-Home
Lately, you’ve probably seen your classmates using this new way of creating a pass and going to places like the bathroom, water fountain, nurse, guidance office, etc. This is an entirely new thing. Before, people would sign out on a sheet of paper, and practically, the teachers would trust that their students wouldn’t take too long. However, kids would be gone for ten, fifteen, twenty, and even more than half an hour!
This problem has lasted for many years, and this new system attempts to reduce the number of kids being gone for too long in the bathroom. We’ve now had this pass system for a few weeks, so the question is, is this new one working, or is it failing? Let’s discuss this topic.
First, I’ll give my thoughts on the new bathroom policy. In my opinion, I believe it is a great way to limit students from roaming the hallways for too long and essentially skipping class. While it can be a little confusing to use at first, eventually, you’ll get the gist of things. One thing that I like about it is how organized it is when you use it.
It’s simple: you just type in your name or student ID, you find and click on the destination you are trying to get to, you adjust how long you will take, and then you grab a lanyard (which are those passes with that you put around your neck) and start the timer!
Do note that each destination will have a different maximum time; for example, the total time you can take while going to the water fountain is three minutes, but for the bathroom, you can take up to six minutes. I also like how we no longer have to use a pass. Instead, we get to use a lanyard. Sometimes, people could lose the pass, meaning only one person could use the bathroom. Plus, some people might also get the wrong one after leaving it on a desk in front of the bathrooms, so having a pass that you can put around your neck makes losing passes much more difficult.
However, something that I do not like about the new pass system is that it doesn’t tell you if something’s closed, mainly the bathrooms, which is a little odd since I believe that every bathroom should be open throughout the day since there aren’t any bathroom duties (only during LB 1 and 2). They are often open, but sometimes they might be closed, and then I’ll have to go to another bathroom only for that one to be unavailable as well. I would have to go on an expedition on some occasions just to figure out which bathroom is available, which just takes time off my timer. Since it is pretty new, I’ll let that one slide.
Something else I want to say is that sometimes, the technology can be pretty laggy. Some students accidentally stop someone else’s timer because the screen would freeze for a few seconds. The school might want to fix that, or they would probably need to make some changes in the system so that it doesn’t occur again. But other than that, I think this new pass system is working.
But it’s that time now. Let’s hear what our peers think about the new pass system! I asked them a fundamental question: “What are your thoughts on the new pass system?” Here’s what they had to say.
Sophomore Salma Mitwalli, involved in theatre, choir, chamber, and volleyball, says, “Honestly, I would say that it’s kinda scary because of the time limit. Like, what if you go five seconds over? What would happen? What if it’s like an emergency? Other than that, it’s annoying to wait and be in line to use the bathroom. I feel like anyone should be able to go at any time. The system also doesn’t tell you which bathrooms are open or closed, which kinda sucks, but oh well.”
A freshman and bowling student, Ethan Hughes, states, “So honestly, it’s not too bad. Like, there are people who do want to use the bathroom, and there are students that just walk in the hallways. Although it is kind of restricting, this system is not the worst or best thing to happen if that makes sense.”
Finally, an anonymous senior gives their opinion, saying, “The new policy is an embarrassment. Timers? Really? And don’t think it’s actually going to have the desired effect. This is just another in the long line of policies more that make the experiences of ordinary students more inconvenient while not changing the behavior of the small fraction of the student body that brings about these policies.”
While there appear to be mixed opinions in the West HS community, it’s vital to recognize that this new pass system is an attempt to make students stay more in class and spend less time using the bathroom or simply roaming around the school. Some things that these students have stated are accurate.
Remember that this is new to the school, and there will be some errors and bugs in the system. But students’ voices are being heard, and the staff at West are more than glad to help resolve that issue, so don’t feel ashamed to speak out on something you believe is wrong or needs to be fixed. Other than that, we’ll have just to wait and see what’s next for this new pass system.