Anonymous 1

Student Anonymous

Mr. Teacher

English 101

January 24^th, 2008

A Weight Case

Crowds of students once streamed toward Smith High School just before the first bell, headed for their lockers to deposit their bulging backpacks. However, now they are out of luck. Now there is no rest for the weary and heavy-laden at Smith High School, where lockers have been removed by school administrators because of their concerns about crowded hallways and tardiness. As a result, Smith High School student carry their heavy backpacks all day—an unfortunate situation that will cause serious problems for students and should be changed.

According to a school announcement, the decision to remove the lockers was prompted by congested hallways. During every passing period between classes, clumps of student filled the halls so that other students could not get to class on time. Tardiness had become a real issue for the administration and teachers. The school administration’s answer was to remove the lockers from the high school.

Without lockers, students have been forced to carry heavy backpacks all day. This situation creates not only an inconvenience, but also a health risk. A recent study shows that carrying an overloaded backpack can result in serous muscle strain in a student’s back and shoulders. Alexa Nuñez, a local chiropractor, reports an increase in the number of high school student who suffer from back and neck pain caused by carrying heavy backpacks. She says, “Students are carrying heavy backpacks slung over one shoulder and increasing their risk of injury.” Nuñez also says that the American Chiropractic Association recommends that a backpack should weigh no more than 10 percent of the student’s body weight, or no more than 15 pounds. A backpack full of textbooks and supplies, however, weighs 25 or 30 pounds. Asking students to carry this weight all day means ignoring basic health guidelines.

Besides the harm caused to the students by carrying these backpacks, there is an additional danger once students get to class. Because a stuffed backpack cannot fit under a desk, it ends up jamming the aisle. As a result, students and teachers cannot move freely around the classroom, and they may trip and fall. In case of a fire or even a fire drill, what if a student stumbles on a backpack, falls, and smashes her head? In the rush to escape, what if no one notices her? Is this a risk that Smith High administrators are willing to take?

Because of the hardships imposed on students by the school administration’s decision, I ask for one of the following actions. First, I urge the school administration to reconsider its decision and restore the lockers for student use at least before school, during lunch and after school. If students used their lockers at these times, they would not fill the halls during the passing periods, risk being tardy, or jam the aisles. The student would have to carry only half of their day’s required books and perhaps cut the weight of their backpacks in half. Second, if the school cannot reinstall the lockers for some reason, I request that the school remedy the situation with a widely discussed and widely used method: Issue two sets of textbooks—one for the classroom and one for home. Everyone is concerned about student health, but the school should not expose students to real health risks in order to prevent possible, but highly unlikely, risks. Removing the lockers was a mistake because of the problem it has created for the students. To correct its mistakes, Smith High School should reinstall the lockers or issue another set of textbooks for each student.