Students everywhere are deciding against using lockers to store their school supplies in. They are consciously choosing to carry around pounds worth of textbooks and notebooks around all day. Students get a choice on whether or not they want a locker when they attend orientation before the school year starts.

Mrs. Brandy Reed, the administrative assistant who is in charge of lockers says, “We ask students if they are in band and if so we issue them a band locker so they are closer to the band room. We try our very best to give tall students a top locker whenever possible.” At the very end of the year, students are asked to clean out their lockers.

Reed goes on and further explains, “At the end of each school year students have to clean their lockers out, then myself and Ms. Pillette go around and inspected each locker for damage.  If there is damage to a locker a fine is written to the student the locker was assigned to.” If you take good care of your lockers then you have nothing to worry about. “We have a google doc that we have all locker assignments and combination in,” Reed finalizes.

Students who don’t have lockers either don’t have one due to a shortage in lockers available or just because they don’t want one; therefore, letting Reed give it to someone else. Students thought process on this is based upon time restrictions between classes and proximity issues. “I don’t have time between classes to go there,” says senior at CHS Brennen Martin. “I didn’t figure out [how to use] time management for my locker and stuff so I just ended up carrying things in my backpack all the time.”

While students deciding against using and getting a locker seems like a responsible and logical decision that is based on personal preference and personal situations, it can hurt some students backs. “My back hurts still. I have rounded shoulders now just cause I’ve been carrying around my backpack like this, and now I hunch over when I sit down and stuff.”

“I weighed my backpack Sophmore year: 53 pounds,” says Martin. Backpacks are beginning to get lighter from teachers switching to Chromebooks instead of textbooks, but they can still be heavy depending on a student’s school day.

Senior Tayor Lester has a locker. Even though it is a P.E. locker, he admits to using it for books and other supplies every once in a while. Lester states, “no time between classes given most of my classes is from one side of the school to the other.”

Lester explains that most students use the passing period as a break from class, and converse with friends and fellow classmates before reporting to their next class. Lester explains, “lots of people like to hang out with people in between classes”.

While students are offered a locker when they attend orientation, some find that they don’t want one, or don’t think it would be helpful enough to get one. Students would rather let their locker be given to someone else who would actually use it, rather than let it go to waste. Lockers are useful for some, but it is not what all students use. It all comes down to personal preference.