By Riley Gonzales, News Editor
This fall, returning students have noticed some changes around River Hill. Teachers now monitor the hallways during class, and they’ve cracked down on the use of hall passes.
In previous years, few teachers have had hall passes in their classrooms and students could leave class with verbal permission. However, this year they are being used by every teacher, and students have definitely noticed.
For some, such as sophomore Michael Gerdes, the hall passes haven’t changed much. “The passes don’t make much of a difference, It’s just something they carry around,” he comments, adding that the extra level of complexity of having to sign out in some classrooms is “a bit annoying.”
Others understand the importance of these new regulations, but still find them somewhat tiresome. Senior Serena Goyal notes, “At times it can get a little bit tedious for both the teachers and the students to have to use hall passes, but I get their point on making sure students are in classes.”
Still, others find them unnecessary. Allie Burns, a senior, articulated, “It kind of makes you feel like you’re back in elementary or middle school. I feel like you can be trusted to go to the bathroom without having to take a pass, especially with the new hallway monitors.”
Senior Jenny Liu agrees, explaining “If they’re going to have teachers sit in the hallways, then it’s not [necessary].” Unlike hall passes, the hall monitors are entirely new this year. Having teachers in the hallways keeps students from wandering off during class or staying in the bathroom for extended periods of time, which some believe to be more effective than hall passes.
Another concern that students have brought up about the passes is sanitation. Allie elaborates, “They’re also really gross and dirty, because when you take it in there you don’t know who else has touched that, and it’s been in the bathroom, and you don’t know if people have washed their hands.”
Senior Lauren Yoo agrees, stating, “The thought of having to carry around a pass that someone else was carrying previously into the bathroom is a little bit gross. I don’t want to touch it.”
Some teachers have been using disposable passes, small slips of paper that must be signed by the teacher in order to leave the room. Although this solves the issue of sanitation, it brings up new questions. Serena notes, “We should save paper and maybe not use paper hall passes… I feel like that’s kind of harming the environment.”
It seems there is no perfect way to monitor the halls, but the administration is trying their best. The new rigidity concerning hall passes is not without good intentions. Last year, many of the bathrooms were locked for long periods of time. There were issues with vandalism at times, including a threat written in a bathroom stall. Hopefully the changes being put in place will be able to create a safer, cleaner, and happier school environment for everyone.