There is five minutes left in class, you really have to go to the bathroom and when you pull out your long and yellow hall pass, it rips. Then, you realize that you have one more slot for the class. What decision do you make?
When it comes to going to the bathroom, the school requires students to have a hall pass when leaving the classroom. The school has had different hall passes in the past: agenda books and hall slips. This year we have the hall slips.
Pros: Old Agenda Books
- Guaranteed three trips per day.
- Space for a memorandum.
- Shows you what days you have off.
Cons: Old Agenda Books
- People started to abuse the three per day.
- It was easy to use someone else’s because you could rip the covers off and get rid of the names.
- The agenda book was larger, so it was harder to store.
Pros: New Hall Passes
- More trips per class period.
- They are smaller, so you can fold them to put in even smaller spaces.
- If you have a double period, you get twice as many trips during the class.
Cons: New Hall Passes
- You have to get a new one every marking period.
- They can get lost easily.
I personally think that the old agenda books from the pros listed above are the best option for students. The yellow slip does have some pros to it: if you have a double period, you would have twice as many bathroom breaks for one class.
People don’t always have the same views on things and people have a right to speak freely on concerns that they believe matters to them.
Eighth grader Landon Huss said, “I liked the agenda because it was easier to carry around in my binder, and we had like a lot more passes to get out of class.”
The hall passes aren’t just for student to go to anywhere they need to go. They are beneficial for teachers and staff to check to see if a student is actually allowed in the hallways, and if there is an incident somewhere, principals can check their pass to see who was involved.
“I think like this the paper is more beneficial because it’s a little smaller and people would rip agendas up and throw them around last year,” Huss said.
At the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, the school decided to discontinue the old agenda books and replace them with new yellow hall slips.
Huss said, “I feel like they discontinued the agenda just off the sole purpose that the hall pass is smaller.”
In the end, whether it’s the convenience of the old agenda or the practicality of the new hall slips, both systems have their ups and downs. Finding a balance that works for everyone will take time, but it’s clear that the goal is to ensure students can get to where they need to go while maintaining order.
