A Letter to the Administration
Following the traffic rules designated by the lines in the hallways, students should always walk o the right side of the halls, but not everyone obeys the rules.
Dear Admin,
We the students are very happy to be back in school, and we are thankful for all of the hard work that has gone into it being possible for us to be in the classrooms everyday. We really missed you all, truly. It is very safe to say that without you all, we would be lost because the large majority of us were during lost corona-cation.
But, we have a few bones to pick with you.
Dress code. We kind of get where you are coming from, but we don’t. As students, we come to learn, not to distract boys with our bralettes and the little parts of our skin you may be able to see through the holes in our jeans. As educators, you go to school to teach, not report us for clothes that are only deemed inappropriate when worn in school. There is also one very specific dress code rule that I have seen be broken multiple times this school year. Boys now wear ripped jeans to school. I have even seen a few boys thighs due to the rips in their jeans. However, not one boy this school year has gotten dress coded for the holes in their jeans. Is it because boys wearing ripped jeans to school is a new phenomenon or is it because we are too busy sexualizing a girls body. Let’s face it, what students wear to school is not distracting until there is a rule made about a certain piece of clothing and attention is drawn to it due to that rule.
There is a correct way to wear a face mask and if students were held as accountable for their face masks as girls are for the dress code, I think we would have a much happier school.
Masks. We understand them. We know we have to wear them due to COVID and we are so very thankful for the mask breaks. However, there is a correct way to wear a face mask and if students were held as accountable for their face masks as girls are for the dress code, I think we would have a much happier school. Masks should cover your mouth and nose at all times. If a student is wearing a mask under their nose, they should be asked to pull it up. It should not be pushed under the rug like we have seen for the past three weeks. Regulating masks is more than just one more thing you have to monitor, it could potentially be what keeps us in school for another 8 days or 8 months.
Parking. You all have numbered spots. As students we do not have numbered spots; therefore, we park in the unnumbered spots or on the side streets. My question to you all is if you have numbered spots, why do some of you park on the side streets? I’m genuinely asking because every single day I see many numbered spots with no one parked in them and I know they belong to one of you and I also know a number of teachers park on the side streets. If you are going to park on the side streets, at least pull up the whole way. I am genuinely wondering why you don’t park in your perfectly good numbered spots.
Technology. Technology in school is very new to us all. Yes, we are a younger generation and we are growing up with technology being more prominent than ever. This does not mean that we know it any better than you do. We are learning it together. We don’t just automatically know how Microsoft teams works. We don’t always remember to hit submit on a google classroom assignment. Yes, it can come down to responsibility, but for a very long time our assignments were on paper. We are still learning how to adjust.
Hallway traffic. I think the hallways being separated with tape like a road is fantastic. I wish it was something that has been done since elementary school. It is a great system. The staircases being one way took some getting used to, but we’re getting there. However, COVID has not stopped us from being the social butterflies that used to be encouraged at our school. I understand that you want contact to be limited, I really do. I even understand that it is not ideal and you may not enjoy yelling at us for socializing in the halls, but all it does is crush our spirits. That may sound dramatic, but it does. Like I’d assume many of you, we’ve been waiting to come back to school, not only to see our friends again and to have a little bit of normalcy, but also to see you guys. We miss being able to talk to you at the end of the school day just like we miss waiting for all of our friends to walk to the next class together. Now, we go from one class to the next and we walk out at the end of the day, hardly getting to say bye to the people who have helped us be who we are today.
For some of us, Bellwood is all we’ve ever known. For some of us, it’s our thirteenth year and our last. Change is inevitable, it has been since before COVID and it will be long after COVID is done and over with. This story isn’t about COVID though, it is the student body trying to get you to hear what we’re saying. We’re saying thank you, but as respectfully as possible, we can do better. Dress code can be more fair. Mask requirements can be more equal. Parking can be done in your numbered spot. Technology is something we can continue to figure out together. And Hallway traffic at this time is necessary, but telling us to “separate” ourselves or “move along,” comes off a little harsh. Please remember that we are trying our best just as much as you all are.
However, dress code and parking have always been an issue… we can’t blame that on COVID.
