By: Tim Chai <[email protected]>

Sitting on top of the auditorium stairs, sophomore Blake Gray’s sudden laughter pierces through the silence of the nearly empty building. Lying next to her, Gray’s best friend, sophomore Hannah Lencheck, covered her face with her red hair, trying to stifle her giggles.

“We probably hang out once a week or once very two weeks. We just hang out at the school and sometimes go down to the arts district to get smoothies,” Gray said. “It’s a good way to unwind especially after a really stressful day.”

However, a new school rule may make these future get-togethers impossible. According to Athletics Director Jim Inskeep, the school encourages students who aren’t involved in an extra or cocurricular activity or club with a staff member to leave the school by 3:30 p.m.

Gray said, “We actually haven’t heard anything about the new policy,” Gray said. “We’ve never been told to leave.”

However, according to Inskeep, certain administrators are asking people to leave after school.

Inskeep said, “It’s my understanding that the deans and school police are walking through the school halls at the end of the day. They’re telling students to leave.”

Inskeep said that the new rule was enacted as part of a larger set of measures to ensure the safety of the school and students.

“Security is always something that we’re reviewing and updating if it is possible,” he said. “We have a responsibility to our staff and students to maintain a safe school environment.” However, Gray said she remains skeptical.

“I think the new regulation is ridiculous. I can understand it if they didn’t want random students or people here. But, as students of this school, I think that we have a right to hang out after school.”

According to Inskeep, another reason the school considered the new rule was because of mischevious student behavior after school.

“There are certain students who stay after school who have nothing to do in particular. Some of these students find ways to mess around, like finding unlocked doors and unlocking or locking doors.”

Although the administration does not know the exact dates, Inskeep said that they will pass information regarding the new rule during announcements.

“I sent an e-mail to our coaches, club sponsors and other teachers working with extracurriculars,” Inskeep said. “We just wanted them to know to tell their students to leave the school after their club meeting or practice is over.”

According to Gray, Lencheck and she will continue to stay after school despite the restrictions.

“We’ll probably continue to stay after school. Unless there is action, we’re not going to leave. So far, we haven’t seen direct action aimed at us.”

“However, if we were asked to leave, we’d probably go down to the arts district more often. We can get smoothies and go shopping. We go down there anyways.”