The idea of needing some form of a hall pass to show that one is permitted to move around the school during class time is often a topic of controversy between faculty and students alike. While hall passes can be seen as a solution to wandering students and any misuse of class time, some argue that passes can be inconvenient, unnecessary and even unsanitary.
Because of the variety of opinions on hall passes, policies can vary between teachers. Sophomore Phoenix Smith gave her thoughts on why some teachers believe in the pass and others do not. “I think that it depends on the experiences teachers have with hall passes and their location of the classroom.” She cited that some teachers may have been taken advantage of before or gotten into trouble due to wandering students, while some teachers have never seen a need for passes because of a lack of trouble and/or a convenient location close to the bathrooms. There is less of a risk of wandering and less of a need for written permission when bathrooms and other needs like water bubblers are within a few steps.
When asked their opinion on hall passes, Phoenix shared “I think that hall passes are necessary in schools. Even though it may be annoying to carry around, it lets others know that you are allowed to be out of class, and avoid trouble. Now, they are not just for the bathroom. I frequently get hall passes if I need to go to the nurse or guidance, and it makes me feel safer knowing that no one will question me in the hallway.” Phoenix mentioned that personally she has never been stopped and made to show a hall pass but that they are more helpful to give to faculty when she has reached her destination to excuse any validated trips. In terms of bathroom trips despite Phoenix’s positive stance on the general use of passes she did explain that they did not change much and even with the use of passes many students can still be out of class for longer periods of time.
HHS student Megan Buckley noted that throughout the day each teacher has a different approach to hall passes that sometimes can even change throughout the school year. It’s clear that different classes have different rules based on their circumstances. Megan pointed out that “each teacher tries their best to use class time efficiently as well as accommodate for their students and this often results in multiple strategies for policies like hall passes.” Whether they are decided by the whole school or each teacher individually, rules are constantly changing in order keep HHS a safe and controlled learning environment.
