Page 9 - The Edge Issue 8

Lockers: Are They Here
to Stay?
The epic battle of “should they stay or go” continues.
Story by Molly Sing
Some
people, however,
prefer to keep all of their supplies on hand throughout the day, and there
is a sizable portion of the student population that doesn’t use the
lockers at all.
The lockers are costly to
maintain, as they always seem to be plagued by wasp nests,
squeaky hinges, and rusty doors. As many students don’t
use their lockers,
8
For Emily Qu, 8,
the purpose of a locker is
to store school items like heavy textbooks. When a
student lugs around pounds of textbooks from class to
class every day, their school routine can become tiring- not
to mention bad for their back. Lockers provide a place to keep
these cumbersome books when students aren’t using them.
“I prefer to use my locker because not only can I store my books that
I do not need for class, I will not forget them at home,” said Qu.
Lockers have always been a prominent feature of student life. From chatting with your friends at the lockers to getting your locker decorated for your birthday, lockers have had an honored place in high school memories for years. Soon, however, these staples of the high school experience may be phased
out. Due to lack of use, lockers may be losing their
place in school halls.
backpack gets too heavy and my back starts to hurt,’’ said
Trautman.
In addition to preventing back
problems, lockers can also help students to stay organized. Through the course of a school day, students are handed papers,
notes, and documents- and sometimes, these items find a permanent home at the bottom of
a backpack. A locker enables a student to keep important papers
somewhere secure, without having
the school administration has considered simply removing the lockers to save
maintenance costs.
But for some students, the
lockers are a necessity. Aubrey Trautman, 8, chooses to go to
her locker everyday, and she considers it a vital part of her
daily school routine.
“I prefer to use my locker
everyday, or else my
As well as students neglecting or vandalizing lockers, administration is also concerned about students sharing lockers,
because shared lockers can easily contribute to problems with lost, stolen, or broken personal
items.
While lockers may be
convenient and useful for students, they can also become a problem. In administrations’
view, it simply doesn’t make
sense to keep up with the costly maintenance of lockers that students aren’t going to use. But for many students, their locker is an essential component of their school experience. If you are one of these students, don’t fret- while administration has considered removing the lockers, there are
no plans in action, and these convenient student storage places aren’t disappearing anytime soon.
to keep track of different
folders. While administration recognizes that lockers are important for many students, it can be difficult to maintain the lockers when some students use them irresponsibly.
“The biggest thing for me is to make sure that they’re staying in their own personal space, that they’re keeping their lockers clean, and that they
are not vandalizing them in any way shape or form,” said Ms. Jacqueline Ingratta.