Thumbs up:
Finals week survey
After the utterly negative reception of the new finals schedule, which allows students to have upwards of three finals in one day, school leadership has decided to create a survey to get student input that could lead to the schedule being changed. This is great because it allows students to have some input over their schedule, especially a schedule that can cause so much stress.
New campus murals
Just after winter break, students noticed the new murals added on campus. This campus “facelift,” paid for by ASB, adds to the campus’s vibe and makes the school seem more welcoming and friendly. Some students feel that there are better things to spend money on campus, but considering the ASB’s legal limitations, beautifying the campus seems like a good choice.
Thumbs down:
Smoke detectors and rampant vaping
Bathroom conduct and issues with vaping have plagued high schools across America since the invention of the E-Cigarette and our school is no different. To try and stop vaping, our school has installed smoke detectors, but vapes do not produce smoke, they produce vapor which the detector can pick up but only if the vapors are directed at the detector or very strong, like in a situation where the bathroom is being “hot boxed”. There are vape-specific detectors but we don’t have these on campus. It is shameful that we have collectively named “vape bathrooms,” when the technology to stop vaping exists. Lately, it seems that the students who choose to vape have been brazenly breaking the rules outside of the stalls. I know that the administration has asked us to alert staff when this happens, but honestly finding a staff member to tell and going through the process of reporting the incident may seem futile and taxing to a student who just needs to pee.
Teacher Student Emails
Our district provides many applications that aid us during school, apps that we use every day like Canvas and Synergy, however this makes communication with teachers over complicated, as students have at least three email inboxes on different apps, and may have more that teachers introduce separately like the app Remind. Often, teachers forget to clarify what apps they use, and more importantly which apps they do not. Many students are familiar with the feeling of being ignored as emails go unanswered for days and even weeks. Teachers must clarify their preferred mode of communication or this issue will continue.
