It’s a feeling athletes on campus have grown all too familiar with: hauling the additional weight of gym bags, rackets, shoes, and other necessities from class to class. Regardless of what sport they participate in, all athletes are unified by a need for equipment, and a place to store such supplies. This is where the locker rooms are supposed to come in handy, as they provide a space for athletes to store gear during the day and retrieve it after school. The problem is that the locker rooms are not always open before school, forcing students to carry around their sports apparatus.
Having the locker rooms accessible would make things easier for athletes. “It’s not fun having multiple bags to carry around,” freshman Miles Gavigan said.
On the flipside, this practice of keeping team locker rooms secured is not without a purpose. Proponents argue that shutting down the team locker rooms during non-school hours is essential to maintaining a safe environment, locks being an added security measure guarding student’s equipment from any ill intentioned individuals.
Keeping the locker rooms available before school could offer a valuable space for students to prepare for their day, providing an opportunity some students may not experience at home, but most of these sentiments are overlooked in the name of safety.
From the administration’s point of view, safety is the top concern surrounding the locker rooms. “We have to have supervision for safety,” Athletic Director Damian Gonzalez said. The school tries to avoid any complications because unsupervised students may be at risk of getting injured. A side effect of the schools policy is that teachers’ classrooms have transformed into makeshift locker rooms for many students. Students however can still drop off their gear in the locker rooms at break or lunch when there is supervision. “We want to help keep the students safe,” coach Bryan Mark said.
Student innovation has led to the development of numerous temporary solutions, which include storing their equipment either in teachers’ classrooms, in their cars, or their friends’ cars. Access to the locker rooms is a coveted privilege, and hopefully a more permanent arrangement taking both sides’ perspectives into account will come into fruition soon.
