I think we can all agree that this past year has been hard. These hardships are felt at home, at work, and extend to student’s experience at school. Safety is some of the biggest concerns in schools right now because of Covid. Safety includes things like social distancing, wearing a mask, and washing our hands. It is so important to do these things in school so we don't spread sickness from person to person. 

Covid-19 can be hard to contain, especially with how many people are in the halls, all together each day. I believe that having the one way halls were set with good intention, but it seems to be causing more exposure to students, teachers, and other staff. One junior student said, “I can see what they're trying to do, but it's not effective and is not going to work once everyone is back”. Trying to make 3,000 kids all go the same way in an already crowded hall, is going to cause a lot more trouble than it does now. 

For example, a person has covid and they are asymptomatic, walking in the halls with the same people, in the same direction, for a long period of time. This is going to allow for the virus to spread faster; however, if they are just passing by in the hall, people are less likely to get infected. Another junior at our school mentioned, “They were put in place to maintain social distancing, yet it actually forces students to be closer together.” Now that we are coming back full time with all students, the one way halls are only going to cause more damage. 

When asked about the one way halls, many students complained about their troubles of getting to class, effectively and on time. When a class is just down the hall, you end up having to walk much further than necessary. “I feel that one ways are restricting,” said a sophomore, “They make you feel in a hurry and go against why they were made.” One of our seniors even expressed her frustration with teachers, saying, “Teachers don’t even control how close people get to each other, they just yell at kids for going the wrong way.” Which I’ve even seen and experienced myself. I wouldn’t be surprised if many other students have seen and had this happen too. 

The opinions on the one way halls vary from person to person. I've heard most people say they would rather have the halls return to normal, rather than keeping them as one-ways. One Junior said, “This kept large clumps of students from forming up at the stairwells.” Although this is true, a freshman made the comment that the one way halls have made her school experience more frustrating. Many different students made similar comments, explaining how complicated and frustrating school can be with the two way halls. 

For the past school year the one way halls has been one of the many changes we have had to make for COVID. Now that we are going back to full time school in April, with the idea of school being somewhat normal, why can’t we let the hallways be part of that somewhat normal too? Many students said how much better and easier it would be to go back to having one way halls. 

At the very start of quarantine, stores tried to make their isles one way, and it didn’t work nor made a difference in COVID cases. It has been months since then, and yet our school still forces a one way hall. I have researched the cause and effect on one way halls and all that I’ve found was that it makes getting through the hallways harder for everyone. Even schools like Grandveiw and CT that don’t have the one way halls, don’t have a difference in the amount of cases than we do. Therefore raising the question, are there any positive impacts being made by the one-way hallways?

I can’t say that this is what’s going to stop the spread of COVID-19 throughout our school, but maybe it can make the cases drop, and give students a sense of normalcy at school, making an overall safer and less stressful learning environment.

 By signing this petition you are helping us make a small change in our school that will have a huge impact on each student. We don’t need anything but your help to help us have some kind of normal for the last quarter of our school year. 

Thank you for your time and patience.