In an attempt to minimize the number of students late to class, Sherwood has instituted hall sweeps. After the late bell rings, teachers will lock their room for the first and last 10 minutes of class and not allow any students to enter class while administration and security round up any students not in class on time. The following two writers discuss the new policy and its effectiveness.

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Pro: Hall Sweeps Expose Entitlement

by Noah Corman ’19

The recently implemented hallway policy aims to get students to class on time. Those who are late and do not have a pass receive a punishment based on their number of violations. Also, teachers must lock their doors for the first and last 10 minutes of class. Despite the reasonableness of the new rule, many have complained about it. Perhaps some students feel that the administration should have other priorities and that it will not make a difference. However, it is more likely that some people just want to skip class and roam the halls.

A student who objects to the enforcement of a standard, generally agreed upon rule is probably affected by said enforcement. Some people leave class early to get off-campus lunch, to vape in the bathroom, or just to wander around. The school is simply curbing this misbehavior. Finding that problematic reveals how entitled some students are. School is for education, and walking around the halls unsupervised is a privilege. When students act irresponsibly, the administration has every right to take away that freedom. The least a student can do is show up, so by forcing students to do the bare minimum, hall sweeps do justice to the upstanding majority of students.

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Con: New Policy Proves Ineffective

by Kara Thompson ‘20

Recently, Sherwood has implemented a new hall sweep policy to ensure students are making it to class on time. Teachers are required to lock their doors once the final bell rings, and any students caught still in the hallway are rounded up and later sent back to class with a tardy pass. The policy was put in place to crack down on the number of students skipping class and/or arriving late. But this rule is not the way to make a lasting change.

For one, the hall sweeps are only one period a day, and don’t occur every day. They are supposed to be random, but most kids find out about them in advance, either through fellow students or teachers warning them. This essentially negates the reasoning for having the sweeps in the first place. Plus, the hall sweeps make it hard for students to use the bathroom in between periods, or to stop by their lockers. The policy also prohibits students from leaving class the first ten minutes of class, whether it’s to use the bathroom or get water or anything else. While skipping class is an issue Sherwood struggles with, this hall sweep policy is not an ideal or effective way to combat the problem.