Will you be the next victim of receiving a referral? In the spring of 2018, clutter in the locker room prompted new rules to be put in place.
Students seemed to rarely lock away their bags. Because of this, the amount of clutter in the locker room was becoming dangerous. New policies were put into place state that in the event that a student leaves their sports bag or backpack out in the locker room, they will receive a tag on their bag as a warning, then, a referral.
At the end of last year, the administrators at Monte Vista High School asked the P.E. teachers to give out referrals to any students that left their bag out of a locker in the locker room. Natalie Miloslavich, a P.E. teacher at Monte Vista, was one of them.
“We posted signs and we tagged bags for a long time,” said Miloslavich. “The tags said ‘if you leave your bag out, it’s a fire hazard.”
The bags left out aren’t just a fire hazard, they also make it difficult for handicap students to maneuver around the locker room.
“After months of tagging bags, we started giving out referrals,” said Miloslavich, referring to last year.
Last year, there were about ten referrals given out. During the new school year, however, no one has received a referral. Although no one has received a referral this year, that does not mean they are not possible.
Students still struggle with finding a place where they are supposed to put their bags. One option is another locker.
“We have more lockers available,” said Miloslavich. “Just because you see a lock on the locker, doesn’t mean we don’t have more available.”
Another place for sports bags is the designated place that the coach may provide. For example, softball is given a shed. It’s the coaches responsibility to keep that designated area open.
Other sports, like tennis and swim, have bags that normally fit in the school-provided lockers. But just because the bags should fit, doesn’t mean they always do. This prompts students to pile bags on top of each other in the locker room. The issue got so severe last year, that the pile of bags went almost three feet against the wall.
Junior Bo Peterson, never received a referral, but he knows a few of his friends received them. Peterson was on the varsity swim team and decided last year he would bring his bag with him from class to class, rather than locking it away.
Swim season lasts from January through May. This means that five months out of the year, students like Bo carried bags with them to every class.
Fire hazards and impaired maneuvering were the original purposes for the new locker room rules. But, with the backpacks next to desks in classrooms, sports bags will cause the same problems that they do when they are in the locker room.
No one has received a referral this year. This is due to the fact that students are finding themselves with having to put their bags anywhere else but the locker room.
Sophomore, Addien ap Rees, was one the 2018 varsity lacrosse team. The players each have their own duffle bag, which is too large to fit into a locker, even if it is empty. After leaving her bag out, ap Rees received a referral.
“I went to talk to the P.E. teacher, to try and explain my situation,” said ap Rees. “I can’t fit my duffle bag into any sort of locker.”
The teacher allowed her a pass for this instance. Ap Rees now has her mom drive her bag wherever, and whenever she needs it.
“I just have my mom drop off my duffle bag whenever I have practices or games,” said ap Rees.