Liliana Parsons

Effective Jan. 12, backpacks will no longer be allowed to be carried during the school day. This is completely outrageous.

In an announcement made on Dec. 18, Principal DeMoss stated that in the second semester, backpacks will no longer be allowed to be used during school. They can be brought to school and back home, but they cannot be taken to class. Instead, everyone will have assigned lockers that they must store their bags in.

This change is outrageous. This will inconvenience everyone and completely change the daily life of both students and staff for the worst. 

This school is huge. With kids having to traverse the building in only five minutes, the school will see an influx of tardiness. Plus, kids will no longer have time to use the bathroom and will instead leave in the middle of class.

The crowds at the lockers will be hard to get through. The people that approved this change clearly did not think about how crowded the hallways get after fifth and seventh lunch. 

Having a locker is indeed helpful. However, students should not be forced to use them. A place to store an extra jacket or a textbook someone doesn’t want to carry is a great idea, but not everyone has the time to go from one end of the building to their locker and then back across the school.

Backpacks are even more helpful than lockers. They can hold tons of supplies that a human cannot physically carry with just their arms. Bags also keep things contained in class. It’s easy to simply zip up a backpack and move it out of the way without worrying about things spilling out. But loose items like notebooks and pencils are at a risk of being trampled and lost if they’re placed under a desk.

DeMoss claimed that he’s establishing this rule to keep students from sneaking in contraband. It’s naive of him to think that students won’t just find even more creative ways to sneak things in. What’s stopping kids from storing their contraband in a locker and then bringing it somewhere in a pocket? Sure, it might be easier to wand someone instead of digging through a bag, but sometimes difficult things must be done to make everything else easier. 

It’s not just vapes or other drugs that he’s mainly worried about being snuck in. He’s worried about weapons. But small weapons can be concealed as easily as a vape. I’m not going to provide examples so no one gets any tips, but this school has all of the supplies necessary to make a weapon. 

DeMoss also did not consider those with periods at all. Some students that get periods are embarrassed to show their menstrual products in fear of being made fun of. Therefore, bags are helpful for concealing these aids. This decision was clearly made by people who do not experience periods or have never been made fun of for having one.

It’s not just period supplies that people need to keep on them. Medical supplies like epipens cannot be stuffed in a pocket or a binder. How is someone having an allergy attack supposed to go all the way to their locker and open it? DeMoss claims he’s making this change for the safety of the staff and students, but he’s inconsiderate of everyone’s personal safety precautions.

There is a petition going around to reverse the change. DeMoss is aware of this, yet he does not care.

“I’ve already heard about a student petition,” DeMoss said in an email to teachers on Dec. 18. “They are wasting their time.”

This shows exactly how he thinks of the students of PHS. I would usually give him the benefit of the doubt, since he is always trying his best, but after hearing how little he thinks of his students’ opinions I have trouble staying polite. Several teachers are also either being silenced or scared to speak out against the rule in fear of getting in trouble. This is completely unfair, teachers should be allowed to have a voice.

I completely disagree with his statement, since this petition is bringing awareness to the issue. However, if students truly want to see this rule changed, action needs to happen. Not violent action, just peaceful protests. Events like a coordinated skip day or posters plastered around the school will help. Students could even wear their backpacks even after the rule goes into effect.

As someone who’s always preaching that we need to act and be treated like adults, DeMoss is clearly not following through on this. College students can carry whatever bags they want. Jobs allow bags to be carried throughout their buildings. If preventing weapons is what he wants, he should take note from several businesses and schools by installing metal detectors. I have no problem with this. It’ll prevent way more violence than stripping students of a necessity. 

Students should definitely let DeMoss know if they disagree with this. They have the ability to be the change they want to see, they just need to work for it. They should also get their parents involved and have them speak to DeMoss, either in person or through Facebook. Everyone should organize protests and work together to stop this change.