Begining this school year, the administration elected to change the Media Center from a social spot to a quiet workspace. Although students previously treated the library as a space to socialize, talking loudly amongst friends, the new policy details that students must be quiet and keep conversations to a minimum to allow others to focus on work. 

According to Dean of Students and Technology Brian Powell, JC desperately needed an area where students could study. “Students would go into offices in order to have a place to study. A few years ago, there was a valedictorian that spent the majority of her time studying in Mr. Scholl’s office,” Powell said.

According to Principal Tom Durkin, the policy change was a request from students. Although there are many places for students to socialize, there wasn’t a place for students to concentrate. “[Students] said, ‘Is it possible for us to have the [Media Center] as a quiet place?’ They were looking for a place to be able to get some homework done,” Durkin said.

Students’ reactions to the policy change have been mixed. Some students enjoy the quiet Media Center while others dislike it. Sophomore Angela Kahoe enjoys the change. “I think that having the [Media Center] as officially quiet will help maintain order because before it was very hectic. Sometimes people would even get kicked out for being so loud,” Kahoe said. However, senior Jayla Ferguson does not like the new policy because of the effects on other rooms near the Media Center. Although the College Center does not have a quiet policy, students are sometimes kicked out because the sounds can be heard in the Media Center. “Sometimes my friends have been kicked out of the College Center for talking during an off mod or at lunch,” Ferguson said.

Durkin hopes that students may be able to eliminate stress and have less work to do at home, especially if they participate in after-school activities.
“My goal would be that it would have a positive impact on the students’ grades and academic performance. That’s a tough thing to measure though,” Durkin said.

In the future, the administration hopes to redesign the Media Center, making it more suitable for learning. “We’re looking at possibly redesigning it … to make it more like a digital learning center where students can do research and have databases connecting to the Harford Community College Library and Harford County Public Library,” Durkin said.

Although no tangible plans have been made yet, the administration is hopeful for the new, redesigned Media Center. “In time, I think it could become a really nice space for students,” Powell said.

Director of the Media Center Kathy Welsh declined to comment on the new policy.

Madison Dailey is a Community Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com