Since August, the high school is no longer using paper hall passes.
Students are now required to put their student ID number into an iPad, and if the maximum number of students out in the hall has not been reached, students are granted a seven- minute pass to go anywhere from the bathroom to the the nurse’s office to guidance.
The program, 5-Star Students, operates via a kiosk system.
The new procedure has students and staff split on if this is a positive or negative rule for the school.
According to Principal Sam Varano, the electronic passes have been an idea for some time, and the administration decided to act on it this year.
“Around five years ago, [assistant principal Jeremy] Miller had actually brought up the idea for the middle school,” Varano said. “Like many good ideas, it was dismissed until we took a closer look, and realized it was something that we wanted.”
Over the summer, every classroom in the building was outfitted with an iPad for this purpose.
Varano said that he has seen many improvements at the high school because of the electronic hall passes.
“There have been dramatic changes already happening,” Varano said. “Even in such little time, I have already seen less student traffic and there are [fewer incidents] going on in the bathrooms.”
Varano believes the passes will become a permanent system.
“I don’t see any reason to go back, especially since there are so many pros to this system,” Varano said.
Additionally, wellness teacher David Lotier thinks the electronic passes have been very effective and are good for the school.
“I think that the bathroom passes are a good way to control the excess use of bathrooms,” Lotier said. “From what I’ve seen, there has been a lot less congestion in the bathrooms, which probably means less bad things, too.”
Lotier also said that there are a few changes that could be made with the passes to help make it work to its best ability.
“Sometimes it gets confusing because there can be technical problems. A lot of times, people miss passes or they forget to close them out, but I don’t think it’s anything substantial,” Lotier said.
According to French teacher Sally Cushmore, the passes have made teaching easier.
“I’m a fan of the electronic bathroom passes because for me personally, they’ve caused less of a disruption in class and I teach a lot better,” Cushmore said.
Sophomore Lea Stoyamov has a neutral attitude towards the new policy.
“I think the electronic passes are easier than last year because you only have to type in your student ID instead of putting the date and time as well,” Stoyamov said, “but it is also a hassle for no reason.”
According to sophomore Audrey Schwab, the hall passes are really problematic because of its technical issues.
“I think the iPads are inconvenient. Most of the time, they don’t work [because the number of students allowed to sign out of class is at its limit] and then I can’t go to the bathroom,” Schwab said.
Sophomore Emerson Degeiso shares a similar outlook with Schwab.
“I think the limits make it hard to go to the bathroom,” Degeiso said.