Benilde-St. Margaret’s School decided to change their hall passes this year to something more basic. Unlike years in the past when the teachers could pick what object they wanted their hall pass to be attached to, this year, the administration decided to go with a simple laminated pass with a lanyard.
Since all the passes look the same it is hard to identify which pass is for what teacher. They get mixed up in the bathrooms and sometimes forgotten. “I might start with three, and by the end of the day, I have three from completely different teachers. That irritates me because then I gotta hunt them down. Plus, I think they’re dirty,” history teacher Megan Kern said.
Some of the student body at BSM misses the creativity and uniqueness of the old passes. From bowling pins to books, it made it easier for teachers to keep track of their passes and gave some fun with it. “I think they were more creative. You could carry around different stuff like you’d carry around a jack-o-lantern or bowling pin, and now I feel like the hall passes get switched up really easily,” senior Jack Puncochar said.
I think they were more creative. You could carry around different stuff like you’d carry around a jack-o-lantern or bowling pin, and now I feel like the hall passes get switched up really easily.”
— Jack Puncochar
On the other hand, some students find it easier to keep track of these new passes. The simplicity of the passes makes it easy for the students to keep track of and not lose it. With the simple lanyard and small pass, it is easy to keep track of. “I think it’s easy to keep track of [the passes],” Puncochar said.
BSM has tried many different kinds of passes but many of them don’t seem to work. They either get lost or destroyed by the students. They have gone from little laminated slips of paper to creative passes like bowling pins to what they are now, the slip with a lanyard. “I would probably go back to what we had last time, just three passes. And you know, once those passes are gone, that our kids can’t leave, you know, pretty much if you go out and kind of collectively lose all three passes, then you’re kind of out of luck,” science teacher Lisa Bargas said.
The true debate at BSM is if passes are even necessary. Should the students be allowed to just leave class and be trusted to do so? Students think they need more trust, “I don’t think passes are necessary if you have to go to the bathroom, you shouldn’t need a pass. We’re seniors and are almost 18,” Puncochar said.