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Here at LU everyone from 6th grade to 12th grade has their own locker. The anticipation at the beginning of 6th grade and the buzz among students comes from receiving a locker for the first time. It has become a rite of passage. However, could lockers soon become a thing of the past?
Lockers could become obsolete not just at LU, but also in high school hallways across the U.S. With increasing technological advances such as e-textbooks, lockers are no longer needed. As Peter Lippman from the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on Architecture for Education says, “If you are talking about new technology – electronic textbooks, iPads and things like that maybe there is no need for a locker.”
Then there is the cost. For example, Germantown High School in Madison, Mississippi, opened in 2011 without lockers and Madison County saved $200,000 by not including lockers in any of its schools. Other advantages include less noise in the hallways, students being on time more often, and an increased sense of safety.
Every student knows the feeling that comes over them after being dismissed from a class: “I have got to get to my locker.” Students must make sure they get to their lockers on time to make sure they are not late for their next class. But, if everyone flocks to their lockers at the same time, it can get frustratingly crowded in the hallways. It becomes even more difficult for those with a locker on the bottom, since many times the person on the top doesn’t even acknowledge their presence. Those who have a locker on the bottom need to make sure that the person on the top has moved out of the way and that they are not blocking any part of the hallway.
Having heavy bags to carry around while taking out and putting textbooks into a locker isn’t ideal either. The pushing and shoving that comes along with getting to and from a locker creates a hindrance when it comes to being on time to class.
Lockers also create a security risk. Prior to the Columbine High School massacre in the U.S, the worst in American history, the students hid their guns and weapons in their lockers. Lockers are the perfect hiding places for things students don’t want others to see. Precautions need to be taken to make sure that lockers don’t become hiding places for dangerous items. Could high school without lockers really become a reality? Countless movies, TV shows and magazines have made lockers high school icons, featured as a meeting place, plot device and a staple of popular movies. Can you imagine Beverly Hills 90210 or Girl Meets World without the all-important locker conferences? What would the admired scenes of students standing in hallways be without lockers? For now, our much-anticipated lockers are safe. BY LESLIE BECAUD