Dear Editor,
The No Backpack Policy in the school has raised many concerns among the students. The big question is, Why now? What is the purpose? As students, we all have our theories, dislikes, and disagreements on the new policy. I have looked into it and come up with pros and cons.
First, I would like to start by mentioning that students feel that it is a contradiction to not have a bookbag in school. The policy does not keep people out the hallway. Even as a TEALC student, the back and forth doesn’t stop. It makes tardiness more common as students have to look through their lockers to make sure that they have everything. It’s hard to carry everything at once, as a student said: “I have to carry two laptops and two chargers not to mention the numerous amount of folders and notebook.” In some ways the policy promotes defiance, many do not listen and decide to just ignore the rules. These students feel as though they would lose work more easily and achieve more failure than excellence. One student even joked, “No more blue ribbon Denis, this is achieving failure.” As humorous as it may seem I’ll have to agree with the statement. If we are late to classes then more deficiencies will occur. Students will begin to have much more the detentions, and there will be poor performance in classes.
The arguments keep going, “The policy is inconvenient, we don’t have enough time to transfer,” one student states. Others continue on saying that having a short transfer time stresses them more. The time-consuming process of going back and forth to their lockers causes the school's hallways to be packed even after morning announcements, and we all know that Mr. Denis is a perfectionist. Many students find that they don’t feel secure and have a hard time staying relaxed when they feel that they are missing or losing something. Many students have said they have already lost supplies and assignments for teachers. Furthermore, many students have been unprepared and therefore their grades have dropped. This doesn’t mean they are irresponsible, though, take the words from a grade A student that I’ve interviewed. “You learn to be more organized, yes, but you still panic and stress not only yourself,but your teacher too. Teachers get frustrated and tired of you going back to your locker. I necessarily haven’t faced it as much as my peers have, but it’s has been catching up to me. Today I've had to go to my locker three times because I forgot something.”
A great highlight and the second arguable questions are, what about the females? Where are we considered in the policy? I, myself, have my own frustration on this one. Females have private circumstances that can not be exposed to the open. Many of us do not feel comfortable walking around with a pad and a tampon out in the open. Yes, we might have pockets and blazers with storage, but let’s be honest, pads or tampons are not tiny. You can still see it no matter how hard you try to hide it! Just like this one student said, “I don’t feel comfortable with everyone watching it feels like I'm saying hey you guys I’m on this, don’t judge me, and although it rhymes it's not a pass.” She displays her discomfort clearly to the world, showing that she does not want anyone to know her business that closely.
There have been many comments lately that this no back bag policy is “ridiculous” and “time-consuming” from students and from teachers that it is “no longer a safety hazard” and is a “responsibility-enabler.” Both sides argue different points of views, but both are passionate about their choices. Some students ask questions such as ‘What’s the point of going to school with a book bag and then not using it in the end?’ Others point out the fact that they feel safer without having to trip and break their necks, teachers especially. The teachers have quite the strong points though in this argument. One teacher stated how students learn to prioritize not only their time but their work as well, instead of saying ‘I can’t find my stuff in my bookbag.’ Another state, “When I was in high school, we didn’t have it so we didn’t need it.” Yet no solutions have been made and criticism continues to grow. So, if the reason for this policy was because of safety hazards, wouldn’t having a designated area to put stuff in or a trapper keeper be enough to solve the issue?
Edilenny Capellan / Shellysham Crespo