Every school has areas that need improvement, and students tend to be the most outspoken when it comes to needed change in their buildings. From small fixes to major reforms, students have offered their opinions on what is needed within this school. These opinions provide a clear look at what students believe are the most important factors in making school a better place.
Starting with the most spoken about topic among students, the bathrooms, which are in desperate need of help. One of the most commonly mentioned issues about the bathrooms is the fact that they are never unlocked. “A change I would make would be to have more bathrooms open,“ junior Varun Rajesh said.
Students also argue that another change the bathrooms need is improved cleanliness. Although the students themselves contribute to this problem, increased staff supervision of these areas could play a role in addressing this issue, leading to cleaner bathrooms. Junior Chase Mitchell said, “One change I would make is keeping a security guard near the single-person bathrooms. Too many times, I see there are multiple vacant bathrooms, but when I open all of them, I see that they are unusable because they aren’t clean. Keeping a security guard nearby would pressure the students to stay cleaner when using the bathrooms.”
Moving off the topic of bathrooms, something else frequently mentioned is the school-provided lunches. Students feel that the range of meals and their quality could be improved. This would not only improve their days but also give them more energy to focus during afternoon classes. “Something I would change is the school lunches. They are very repetitive, bland, and never taste fresh. There have been many times when I have just gone without eating rather than eat the school lunch,” sophomore Joe Waldron said.
Something else commonly criticized by students is the current ID policy, which requires students to show their ID every morning before entering the school. Students have expressed that the idea of the policy isn’t the issue, but the way it is enforced. “I wish the ID policy were different; that’s what I would change. Obviously, they are just trying to keep the school safe, but I feel like students shouldn’t have to dig through their backpacks to find an item that is so easy to lose. Instead, I think they should make a school-secured app that each student can access on their phones that contains some sort of barcode you can scan to check yourself in every day,” junior Ksusha Ulyanova said.
A major reform that students talk about is the complete renovation of the school. Although renovations have been discussed for years, they continue to be delayed, and the school continues to deteriorate. “Honestly, I think the school just needs to get knocked down and rebuilt. Places like the science hallway and aux gym are very old and need an overhaul,” senior Rendon Yerman said.
Based on these students’ opinions, it’s clear that they deeply care about their experience at school. From changes to meals and policies, all the way to complete renovations, it’s obvious that this feedback represents real issues and thoughtful suggestions that are all key in creating a better school.
