While CHS has always had stringent hallway policies, the administration has gone too far with the newest change. According to Principal Williams, the school has recently implemented a policy preventing students from leaving the cafeterias once the tardy bell has rung. Williams said that a number of kids were roaming around in the hallways during lunch, and the administration wanted to ensure the quiet and peacefulness of the hallways during academic instruction.

While the school has positive intentions when creating these security measures, these changes have unintended consequences. It is imperative for the school to maintain a safe and secure environment, but students’ lack of freedom and mobility in the school contributes to greater dependence on the school system and decreased readiness for college.

Inconvenient approach

A main problem with the change is that students are forced to choose between eating lunch in the cafeteria or working in the media center. Previously students could go wait in the long lunch lines and bring their lunch to the media center, but now students are in a time crunch to get to the media center before the tardy bell. By putting students in this predicament, the school is forcing students to prioritize one over the other, when they should actually be emphasized equally.

We live in a society where personal health is constantly sacrificed for academic ambition, and CHS should not perpetuate this trend. The school should not require students to choose between academics or health, but instead create an opportunity for students to focus on both.

Importance of freedom

Since it is the school’s responsibility to prepare students for future success, instead of creating strict limitations, the administration should give students more freedom. While schools such as Park Tudor allow seniors to leave campus for lunch, CHS students are not allowed to leave the school grounds unless it is for a school-sponsored event or excused absence. From the new change, CHS students do not even have the ability to leave the cafeteria during lunch as they please.

Preventing students from exercising their freedom creates a lack of independence that is imperative for any kind of future a student will pursue. Whether it be in college or the workplace, students will have to learn how to spend their time autonomously rather than following a strict regimen. Schools have an obligation to prepare students for the future, in which academics will only be one of many factors contributing to their success.  Creating opportunities for students to make their own decisions will make the post-high-school transition smoother.

Steps in the right direction

Despite the hallway security change created this semester, we commend the school for its efforts to ensure a safe and secure environment. The increase in hiring of instructional assistants (IAs) in 2010 has dramatically improved hall security and diminished the amount of students loitering in hallways. Additionally, the introduction of security cameras around the school has also helped the school catch misconduct and ensure safety.

However, the administration must realize that in some cases, adding more security requirements will not enhance the safety of the school, but instead create an inefficient system. Past changes to this system have proven to be steps in the right direction, but the administration must strive to implement safety guidelines that will not hinder students’ freedoms.