Ever since the Sandy Hook shooting two years ago, Stamford High has locked up its doors and tightened security to make sure that no one is getting in and out— at least, that’s what they tell us. Their efforts are commendable. Certainly, we all want to know that no one dangerous is in the building. But the fact is, no matter what security does, students are going to find ways around the policy, and it’s causing quite a few problems. Leaving is easy, but coming back to school is more difficult, and oftentimes students just leave for the rest of the day out of fear of getting caught trying to come back in.

Part of the solution is that seniors should be allowed to leave during study halls. It’s better to know that students are leaving and where they are rather than having students sneak out and have no idea if they’re even in the building. At Greenwich High School, a school far larger than SHS, seniors are allowed to leave provided they sign in and out.

At AITE, seniors are also allowed to leave during free periods. For those worried about liability, a parent waiver would virtually take that out of the equation. Parents are also given notices at the beginning of the year notifying which periods their child has off in the event they want to leave. They’re also required to keep a “senior badge,” similar to the permanent hall passes given out to those at Stamford High with student aide periods. Signing in and out and carrying a pass removes the likelihood of non-seniors abusing the privileges, but typically seniors ensure that no one abuses their senior privileges anyway.  “It runs on honor code, but very few people break it to be really honest,” said AITE senior Taylor Garland.

Senior year is stressful, and we’ve all worked hard the past three years to get where we are today. But despite this, senior privileges are few and far between at SHS, and it would do some good to teach personal accountability. In college, no one is going to stop a student from skipping a class, and a student certainly isn’t going to take six straight academic periods without a break. Students, especially seniors, should be given the responsibility of leaving and coming back not just because we’ve earned it, but also because it will prepare us for the “real world.” No matter what the school does, people are going to find a way to leave school, so we might as well make it as safe and secure as possible.