On April 29, a new rule was put into effect. To leave a classroom for any reason, students must sign up for a hall pass through their iPads. Some people are indifferent to the change, some appreciate it, and others despise it. Personally, I have mixed feelings.

Whenever a student wants to leave the classroom, they must follow several steps. First, they need to log into the Clever app. Then, they need to find the “Pass” icon and click on it. Finally, they’ll select the teacher they’re leaving from and the room they’re going to. Once the teacher approves them, they’re allowed to leave.

Some people, like myself, have hardly needed to use Clever this year, so remembering the login can be a struggle. While this can help people remember their information, finding it in the first place could be difficult. Also, getting a teacher to accept a leave request takes time out of class. When they normally could just quickly tell a student to take a physical pass, they now have to complete a set of steps.

If someone needs to leave quickly, like if they’re about to be sick or have an accident, they will no longer be able to. Another addition to this hall pass is that only a few people, no matter the classroom, can be in a bathroom at once. This adds further complications to someone having to wait to go if they’re having troubles. Teachers will be interrupted even more, both the first time when they try to let the student go, and then the second time when they have to check the clock again.

While the time provided should be enough for most, there are certain exceptions. If someone has to go to a bathroom far away from their classroom, that can take around five minutes to even get there and back. If someone is getting sick in the bathroom, then that can take several minutes. Some people go to the bathroom to calm down when they’re crying or having an attack of some sort. That can certainly take awhile. Nose bleeds, changing period supplies, even defecating all require several minutes. What will happen to these people?

Despite all of this, I can see some benefits. For one, it stops people from piling up in the bathroom. The amount of class skippers and smokers that give people weird looks for actually using the bathrooms will be reduced.

The ten minute rule that was established earlier in the year is now no longer in effect. For the first few days, both teachers and students were unsure if it was still a rule or not. It’s still unclear if students should select the teacher’s name or teacher’s room that they’re departing from.

With all the unclearness spread around, the downsides become more apparent than the benefits. I still am unsure of my stance with this rule. Establishing it in the last nine weeks was an odd choice. Maybe, by next year, all of the kinks will be worked out and I’ll get a strong opinion about either side.