During this past summer the school installed new locker room doors. The school was intending to be more secure this year and lock the locker room doors more so they are not always accessible to the students. However, during the fall sports season an incident at Damascus High School occurred. This made the school more aware that the school needs to secure the school more than it had been in the past.
The locker room doors in this school are not allowed to be opened unless there is an adult in the room with the students. The boys’ locker room doors are opened around 7:00 a.m. because one of the three Physical Education teachers arrives at school at that time. The girls’ locker room on the other hand does not open until 7:35 a.m. every morning because the physical education teachers do not get there until that time. “I wait every morning for at least 20 minutes sometimes longer waiting for the locker room doors to open and as time goes on more and more girls appear waiting outside,” sophomore Nadia Emran said.
The locker room doors are locked at 2:50 every day and sometimes earlier because this is when the physical education teachers leave. When students have meetings or have to see teachers after school, but also play a sport, it is very difficult to get into the locker room to get their sports equipment in time before the doors are locked again. When this happens students are forced to find a coach, trainer or teacher with a key to unlock the door and go in with them. “Whenever I have a Patriot Ambassador meeting I always have to rush down to get my sports bag and then run to the meeting,” freshman Amanda Slud said.
Locking the locker rooms was meant to make the school a safer place for students and teachers. “Locking the doors of the locker room may be an inconvenience for students and students may not like it, but it makes students be more accountable and come early to school and classes so they don’t get locked out. Overall it is a good addition because it makes the school safer and has resulted in little theft of items from the locker room,” freshman administrator Joseph Mamana IIIStudents are expected to be monitored everywhere in the school and for all hours of school and are not used to not having the locker rooms accessible during all hours of the school day. “ I think the doors being locked was a good idea but it is getting more backlash than expected and is making everyone’s routine harder than it needs to be,” sophomore Jillian Pohoryles said.
