Due to the pandemic, many safety protocols have been put in place. Along with these protocols came restrictions intended to prevent gatherings in the hopes of minimizing outbreaks. One of these restrictions is that students are not allowed to use their lockers. For now that doesn’t seem to be an issue but when the seasons change and colder weather ensues, students will need to bundle up to get to school. With all the school books that need to be carried and sports paraphernalia, the burden on students’ backs is already being felt, especially for those who walk to and from school and have to cover longer distances.

On top of this, imagine having to lug around a winter coat, boots, and an umbrella for the messier days. With the effects of climate change being felt, these days will soon become a reality once winter comes around.

In class meetings when students were told to pack lightly, it was absurd, as everything in our bags is needed. From textbooks to binders to chromebooks to notebooks, these materials are required for all classes and there is no place to deposit some of them throughout the day, so they have no option but to remain on our backs. Now we either have to make room in our bags or basically carry around extra items that we need but wish we didn’t have to take throughout the day.

This now becomes a point of sacrifice. Do I want to carry a bulky winter coat and have to drag it through the hallways and possibly get it dirty in the hallways and cafeteria, or do I tough up and walk in thirty degree weather only to regret my decision once I step outside and get smacked by the frigid air? Not only does carrying a bulky winter jacket a pain but can also take up more space in the already clogged staircases. I can only imagine how traffic would be if everyone carried their hoodies, jackets, bags, or projects in those staircases. 

On top of this, students in the middle school and elementary schools now have the green light to use their lockers. The luxuries these kids have! We already have the highest workloads and most likely the most stuff to carry around, yet the little kids get a pass. If only it could translate over to the high school so we could also have the option to stay warm and not have to freeze, get sick, and miss an abundance of work that we end up having no choice but to make up. Times like this really make you wish that you could go back to the days of getting homework pass bliss. 

If the other schools in Kearny have managed to make it work, so can the high school.  Having just one thing less to cover is one less pound resting on a student’s back up and down the staircase. 

Only if the temperature proves unmercifully and blasts down a snowy abyss can we hope that pity will be taken on us students to have a place to leave their personal belongings that are a must to travel to and from school.