DePaul College Prep has implemented a new backpack policy. Students may bring backpacks in and out of school but not into classrooms. Students are to keep their backpacks in their lockers during the school day. 

When asked about why this policy was made, Dean April Greer explained a few reasons. Some include ease of movement for all people throughout the building and classrooms as well as the fact that the school has lockers to solve this issue.

“One of the main reasons for the backpack is we have lockers to store them for the school day, and since we are a one-to-one high school with a large student body, it is safer to walk the hallways and occupy space minus backpacks; students, faculty, and staff do not bump into them or trip over them,” Dean Greer explained.

Some students may argue that the consequences are not worth it. In classes, teachers have been issuing detentions for those students who continue to bring their backpacks to class. One student said, “I get too many detentions if I don’t follow it.” While that is a reason some students do not like the backpack policy, only about 2-4% of DePaul College Prep students have gotten detentions for having their backpacks, according to Dean Greer. 

Sometimes, classes are across the school from where students’ lockers are located, another reason some students give for not liking the new policy. One student, who wished to remain anonymous, complained that it takes too long for them to keep going back and forth from their classrooms to their lockers. They said, “It’s not necessary because I have to carry around more items than I can, and if I have a bunch of stuff for different classes, that means that I have more trips to my locker.”

Another student, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “I don’t like it because it’s taking too many journeys to my locker, and I hate carrying my stuff. My backpack does an amazing job, and I don’t need a locker.” Many students prefer backpacks over carrying course materials in their arms.

Dean Greer acknowledges student complaints but explains that students have more than enough time getting to and from their lockers. Some teachers have even timed students to see how long it takes them to go to their locker and their next class, which has demonstrated there is enough time, Greer said. 

Regardless of what some students think, the backpack policy is here to stay, and students are adjusting.