Ellyse Hydock
Campus monitor Rose Francis monitors video while sitting in front of the restrooms during B lunch on Thursdsay. Backpacks wait for their student to claim them - another recent attempt at making West safer.
Hall monitors and administration have started enforcing a new rule that backpacks stay outside of bathrooms during the school day. With this, the school is attempting to prevent certain actions within the bathrooms.
Bathrooms are supposed to be used as a quick use, in and out then back to class. However, teachers have noticed that they’re used for more than that. Students aren’t using them appropriately – hiding in them to be on cell phones, bringing in contraband, and generally aren’t making smart choices.
One voice in the matter of this were the hall monitors. Hall monitor Rose Francis felt that with the restriction of bags in the bathrooms will prevent students from doing things they aren’t supposed to, as well as the crowdedness. “It helps prevent you bringing things that you’re not supposed to have in there,” Francis stated. “I think it just kind of built up and got to a point of like, okay, we need to fix this.”
From the administration perspective, they felt very close to the same as the monitors at the school. Principal Mr. Jeff Cranson felt that kids were using the restrooms to just congregate and do bad things inside. “Just straight up, the students aren’t being appropriate. If you play dumb games you win stupid prizes,” Cranson stated. “You guys all have a responsibility, and when you use it in bad ways things will happen.”