By Zorian Edwards, Editor-In-Chief
And Natalie Slee, Broadcast Editor
On March 14, students were alarmed to discover that any beverages they had opened before entering the school doors were taken away from them after entering.
An official announcement was presented through the school announcements shortly after, which was shared and posted by The Panther Press on social media on March 17. This public release of information sparked a number of confused comments from the community.
“So you can’t bring a coffee from Starbucks (or the local travelers cafe) but can bring a UNCLEAR ‘reusable’ water bottle and put anything in that?” community member Alyssa Hunter said on the Facebook post.
The current announcement, released March 20 on the announcements and on The Panther Press media, gave some clarification on the situation. “Students are not permitted to bring open containers to school,” the statement said. “Containers must be sealed when entering in the morning. Cans and bottles brought from home need to be closed when entering the building. If you choose to drink it during breakfast/lunch that is fine, otherwise it must be consumed before leaving the cafeteria (breakfast and lunch). Please also leave food in the cafe unless your teacher allows otherwise in your room.” Building principal Dr. Howick went on to clarify why this update was made: “Too many messes is the reason for this change. If students have an open container such as refillable bottles, please keep it to clear liquids/water because it is easier to clean. Any containers not sealed will be taken, and disciplinary action will occur.”
After the clarification became public,the community members who were alarmed were thankful for an update. “It would be nice if there were more communication from administration to parents about these things,” Robin Oaks said. “If they want to treat these students like adults in the sense of not including parents in these things, they need to trust that they will be responsible with their drinks.”
A Saegertown teacher shared thoughts on the matter as well. “Reinforcement and change can be uncomfortable, awkward, and even frustrating at first, but that doesn’t mean it’s without reason,” Journalism and English teacher, Mr. Steiger said. “Right now, you’ll be hard pressed to find a day without a spilled drink somewhere in the building, and, when those liquids cause stains and damage, that’s an issue.”
But what do students have to say about this subject? While some students were accustomed to carrying water bottles and Standley cups anyway, here’s what one student had to say: “My personal opinion on the recent outlaw on open beverages is quite simple; it’s a bad idea,” senior Ignatious Petrie said. “Creating such a rule to battle people making messes should not be done this way. From personal experience, I’ve found that rules similar to this cause more messes because now the messes are created intentionally out of spite and protest. I understand that messes may be a problem, but clearly a rule that should remove drinks entirely besides breakfast and lunch, is not a good way to handle this.”
