IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ

Thank you for taking the time to read this important petition. Whether you go to Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School (MVMMS), or you simply stumbled upon this petition, I hope you take the time to sign it, as it concerns the safety and education of students at our school due to absurd and dangerous rules. There have already been riots because of these rules, and I firmly believe that if they are not changed, students will be severely injured.

Recently, MVMMS has decided to implement new rules that students are expected to follow as of 01/02/2024. Some of these rules are edited versions of existing rules, and some are completely new. These rules were created without any input from students, which is already angering students. MVMMS has not yet released reasons/causes for some of these new rules, which is leading many students to believe that the school's administration is acting carelessly and dangerously. In these paragraphs, I will address two key problems with these rules: How they are causing unsafe riots, and how they are affecting the education of students.

1. RIOTING: HOW THE NEW RULES ARE CAUSING RIOTS AND MOBS

Yes, you read that right, riots. I will start by explaining the rules that are causing this, then explain the effects they have. Below I will provide a visual to see why this rule is so dangerous.

 

 

The Rule: Since MVMMS's explanation of the rule is lacking in detail, I will do my best to explain it in my own words. When it is time for students to go to lunch (time varies depending on grade level) they must wait outside of the school building until they are let in by teachers/staff. They are forced to wait in a small area outside of the cafeteria doors. The area is shown here:

Students are not allowed to wait inside the building, even in FREEZING temperatures. Instead, hundreds students are forced into a small area where they must wait in temperatures below 32*F until they are let inside.

Why this is so dangerous:

Putting aside the risk of frostbite from freezing temperatures, putting hundreds of students in a very small space can cause riots and injury. In fact it already has! One day, me, as well as HUNDREDS of other students were forced outside despite the temperature being below 15*F. Even students who had no coat or jacket were still forced outside. Time passed, and the staff still did not open the doors to let students in, despite some students begging to be let in the building. Some students, such as myself, began to go numb from the cold, and began turning red, and for some students, purple. The staff witnessed this, but would not let students in the warm school building. The students were in so much pain that they began to bang on the door, demanding to be let in. Some students tried breaking the glass to get in, but were unsuccessful. The staff watched all of this, and instead of taking pity on the shivering kids, they still wouldn't let anyone in the school. A huge fight began in the mob of students trying to get in the building. Eventually, the staff finally let the students in, however, some students got minor injuries from this riot. I believe that students should feel safe at school, and not be at risk of frostbite or injuries from riots. But apparently, our incompetent administration thinks otherwise.

2. TARDY STUDENTS: HOW THE NEW RULES ARE CAUSING STUDENTS TO BE LATE TO CLASS OR BE MISSING DURING CLASS

There are a number of new rules that are causing students to miss class, so I'll go through them each individually.

1st Rule: When a student goes to the restroom, they must take a bathroom pass. This has always been a rule, however, there is now a new rule to go along with it. Students are now required to place their pass on a hook outside the restroom. There are four hooks, and if there are no empty hooks, you MUST wait for a student to leave before you can enter the restroom. Essentially, there can be up to four people in a restroom at one time, despite all of the restrooms being able to accommodate much more than just four people. To really show how bad this rule is, let's get statistical with this. There are about 300 students per grade, and 2 restrooms per grade (1 men's room and 1 women's room). That means that there are about 150 students of each gender per grade (not accounting for non-binary students). So that means that if more than 2.7% of students (4 out of 150 students) need to use the bathroom at one time , someone will need to wait, resulting in them missing class time. This will ultimately result in a significant amount of learning being missed due to our terrible administration. MVMMS has not yet provided a reason for this rule, and due to how ridiculous it is, I don't expect to ever get one.

2nd Rule: If the first rule didn't make you angry, this one will. This rule will cause students to be very late to their classes. For some background, MVMMS has four staircases that go from the first floor to the fourth floor. The reason for having multiple staircases is to provide students with options on how to get to their class, and to prevent one staircase from getting too crowded. But the new rule prevents students from using 3 out of 4 staircases, and forces them to use only one. As you can imagine, forcing a student population of almost 1,000 to use ONE staircase is not a good idea. The staircase will become way too crowded, leading to traffic in the stairs. It is not an exaggeration to say that this will make many students very late to class.

3rd Rule: I know, you didn't expect three. Neither did I when I first heard these rules. But here we are. MVMMS requires students to put their backpacks in their lockers. This isn't a new rule, but it's helpful to know this before I explain the new rule. The lockers provided by the schools are very small, so an average sized backpack can BARELY fit in the lockers. The lockers are also used for binders, notebooks, and other supplies students need for their classes. The lockers simply do not have enough room to fit all of these things. As a solution, many students have resorted to keeping their locker slightly open to create more space. Students also do this due to the locks on the lockers jamming/breaking very often. This allows students to open their lockers without the need to put in a combination, which is time efficient, and easy. However, the school's new rule prevents ANY student from keeping their locker open during class. I know what you're thinking. Doesn't leaving your locker open give others the opportunity to steal your stuff? While this is a valid concern, the school uses cameras to monitor the hallways, so nobody can get away with theft. Not only that, but the hallways are always filled with students and teachers, so anyone trying to steal from an open locker would be caught in seconds. But like I've said, the administration didn't think about this, so now all students will have to waste time trying to open up a locker that barely works. 

4th Rule: 4 rules? I can't believe it! This rule will cause students to not be prepared for their classes. MVMMS no longer allows students to bring school supplies to lunch. I know, it doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is. Let's use me as an example. Before this rule was implemented, I could bring my computer, my pencil case, and whatever else I needed with me to lunch. The cafeteria is on the first floor, so If I have a class on the first floor, I could get there quickly. However, because of this new rule, if I have a class located on the first floor of the school directly after lunch, I now need to go ALL the way from the first floor, up to the fourth floor, open my locker, get my supplies, and then go ALL the way back down to the first floor again, and go to my class. Sure, going up all those stairs is a good way to get some exercise, but it certainly isn't time efficient.

WHY IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU SIGN THIS PETITION

If enough people sign this, hopefully it will persuade MVMMS to get rid of these absurd rules. This will not only help protect the education of students, it will also help keep the students safe. So if you care about the safety and education of kids, please, sign this petition.