By Izack Kessler, Opinion Editor & Chief Illustrator
As the new school year begins, one of the new changes brought to our school are the e-hall passes. While they provide many benefits, the cons are heavy as well. There are varying opinions on the topic, but based on my observations, it seems to be widely disliked by students, yet praised by staff members.
In my opinion, I believe that the E-Hall passes take away from class time, unnecessarily pausing lessons and causing more of a disruption to the learning experience for our students. Students may not want to go through the work of signing into Classlink, filling out their pass, or even just grabbing their laptop. They are more likely to choose to go during passing time, lunch, or during work time.
Having students go during these times instead of during teaching time has led students to agree the e-pass process ultimately adds stress to their days, rather than primarily serving as a beneficial tool. For many students, five minutes is not enough time to travel from class to class and use the restroom. I do not believe that it is enough time, especially if there are other students using the same restroom as well.
However, some staff disagree:, “Under most circumstances, [it’s enough time]. Because I can get down to the copy room and back, and make about 30 copies within the passing period,” says Hoss Jaeger, a teacher here at Indian Trail. However, there are benefits by having E-Hall passes at Indian Trail. It helps ITA keep track of students in case there is an emergency, such as a lockdown. It also can help track students when there are fire, tornado, or ALICE drills. However, the system’s intent was not to track students but to keep the hallways managed.
“We’re really not trying to track you everywhere you go; we’re just trying to make sure we have locations,” said Mrs. Kessler, who planned and has directed implementation of the e-hall system. “It’s just giving us that kind of transparency so we are able to manage the traffic.” Not only does it benefit the school’s system, but the teachers themselves.