Dear KP Editor,
This school year brought changes both in policy and attitude to MVHS. Several of these changes have no benefit and are detrimental to students. Specifically, the recent ban on backpacks should be reconsidered.
With 1,000 students, MVHS is too large for effective implementation of this ban. It is unreasonable to expect students to get from class, locker, and to another class in four minutes. It leaves no time for restroom breaks and penalizes students that are held after class by a teacher. Insufficient time is especially applicable to seniors, whose lockers are on the opposite side of the school from the majority of classrooms and the cafeteria. Students also are more likely to forget materials or bring the wrong materials to class.
The ban doesn’t change the presence of drugs or weapons in schools. Drugs and weapons could still be kept in lockers, not eliminating the threat of their use. The middle school, which is more compact than the high school, has a ban on backpacks, but still faces issues with drugs and weapons brought into the school. Safer alternatives, such as transparent baskets, which are unable to hide weapons or drugs, were also banned. This additional ban shows a lack of logic as well as a lack of respect between the administration and students. This is the logic used for a misbehaving 3-year-old, not for high school students.
The ban presents dangers for students, rather than securing safety. “Carrying large or bulky objects may increase the probability of falling [and] may also make it more difficult for a falling person to grab a…handrail.” I have witnessed students drop materials as well as fall up and down the stairs. Stairway falls are extremely dangerous since they are known to result in “major injury such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) and hip fracture.” For young to middle-aged adults, stairway falls are the cause of TBIs 27% of the time.
I chose to stay at MVHS throughout my high school career to take courses in the AP curriculum. This year’s changes regarding backpacks, among other changes, have contributed to an environment that is less supportive, positive, and collaborative than in previous years. I now regret that I did not take classes at OSU Newark or MVNU. The frustration in the high school outweighs the inconvenience of taking classes elsewhere, away from the network of friends and the familiarity of MVHS.
Sources:
Cohen, Joseph, Cindy A. LaRue, and H.
Harvey Cohen. “Stairway Falls: An ergonomics analysis of 80 cases.” National Safety Council. January 2009. Accessed September 13, 2017.
“A review of stairway falls and stair negotiation: Lessons learned and future needs to reduce injury.” Gait & Posture. June 24, 2016. Accessed September 15, 2017.
Aidan Clarkson, Mount Vernon