As a senior in high school, you can imagine my appall upon returning to school to meet with the harshest regulations than I have ever encountered over the course of my 12-year educational career here with FCPS. I understand that these new and strict rules are meant to create a safe environment for every student, however, taking into account the nature of high school students, this may very well have the exact opposite effect. School has always been a safe space for so many of us, away from the stressors of home life. However, these new rules are creating even further stress by removing this safe space, and instead allotting harsh punishments for actions that had always been a normal part of our daily lives in the past. Students cannot thrive in a constricting environment, and these regulations have created exactly that. In order to preserve the students’ passions for learning, these new regulations must be reformed to allow more freedom in the classroom.