Over the years of being at John Carroll, there have not been many issues with students keeping their lockers closed. Recently, especially during this school year, students have struggled with the idea of keeping their lockers closed. Many students are keeping their lockers open during the academic day and beyond.

During this school year, I have seen many lockers wide open while walking to class or going back to class. This can cause many issues when students report stuff missing because people go into their lockers to steal things. Lockers are meant to keep belongings safe and secure during the school day.

Teachers, along with the Deans of Students, often move through the halls to close lockers to prevent things from getting stolen. I have seen students getting upset because when they come back, their locker is closed.  They have to spend the extra minute dialing the combination. The teachers and deans are closing them to benefit the students.

If students continue to leave their lockers open, there will be a more serious consequence. Teachers should not be in charge of making sure lockers stay closed. This can result in write ups or even detentions.

Some students may argue that they don’t have a lot of time in between classes, so they need to go to their lockers quickly.  They may say they leave their lockers open because the lockers may “get stuck” easily and don’t have the time to deal with that all of the time.  Others may say that it’s no different than pennying the locker.

However, pennying the lockers, a common practice in itself, still leads to thefts.

If students are fine with leaving their lockers open, they should also be fine when things go missing. Teachers should not be responsible for the students’ belongings when students are given lockers to keep things safe.

When they are presented with the problem of lockers being kept closed, students seem to struggle with the fact that they actually need to lock their lockers by closing them.

Students keep their valuables such as keys, water bottles, and wallets in their lockers. When students leave their lockers open, this could lead to many issues like people putting illegal stuff in others’ lockers.

It only takes a fraction of a section to push the locker shut.  It would take a lot longer to replace stolen items.

No one should be able to walk down the hall to see a bunch of open lockers that lend themselves easily to theft.