At the end of last school year, I felt as though students shared the similar idea that Carmel High School is a “prison.” I heard it in the halls, read in on Twitter and felt as though I couldn’t escape that idea. It is true that CHS does monitor its students more than other schools although administrators do so with the best of intentions. It is their job to make sure that by the time students graduate, they are upstanding citizens. If a strict dress code, searching the wifi, or periodic drug searches make students accountable for their action, then so be it.

The truth of the matter is, the mistakes that we make now do define us for the rest of our lives. While we are young, and it is time to make mistakes, we have to make sure that the mistakes do not haunt us for the rest of our lives. It’s easy to make a rash decision and unfortunately, it is able to follow you the rest of your life. It is teachers and administrator’s duties to hold us to these standards and make sure that students do not to anything regrettable. While some of the rules may be strict, it is a teacher’s duty to mold students into the mature and respectable citizens.

The other truth of the matter is that we are Carmel. Other schools are just waiting for us to mess up and for the opportunity to make us feel inferior. Carmel has high standards and a reputation to maintain. It is no surprise that administrators work to maintain this remarkable reputation. As hard as it can be for students to believe, all the rules, searches and trips to the deans’ offices do have a purpose. They aim to keep Carmel the outstanding place it is, and to keep the student body full of outstanding young adults.

If the price we have to pay for a top-tier education, hundreds of extra-curricular opportunities and teachers that care about students’ well-being are some simple rules then that is a price I am willing to pay. So next time you complain about being breathalysed before you walk into our million dollar stadium, think about the reason behind it. Administration is simply trying to protect the students and Carmel’s reputation.

They amount of things that I have heard peers complain about with Carmel in my three years as a student truly baffles me. Since my first day here, I have understood how truly lucky each and every student that walks through the doors is. Having to give up some small freedoms in order to make sure each student is safe and protected is something everyone should be willing to sacrifice. Every adult in the building has the best of intentions. I challenge everyone this school year to appreciate Carmel for the great school that it is and to realize that CHS is absolutely nothing like a prison.