This year DePaul Prep introduced a new rule: students can carry drawstring bags around school. This has led to a lot of confusion from students about why these smaller bags are allowed, but not larger backpacks. 

Ever since DePaul Prep moved into its new campus, there has been a policy banning backpacks to be carried around the school. In the past couple of years, high schools all across the country, including DePaul Prep, have tried to find solutions to making school a safer place with less threat of violence. Some schools have responded by putting in metal detectors, but DePaul Prep decided to adopt a no backpack rule, similar to the rules in concert venues such as Wrigley Field or United Center. As Principal Dr.Stanton- Anderson says, “It’s a safety reason for not having kids carry large, bulky backpacks that can be filled with all sorts of things that we don’t need in school, the most dangerous of which of course would be weapons.”  

Another reason behind the no backpack policy is the narrow hallways at DePaul Prep. The hallways at the old Gordon Tech campus were on average wider and larger, compared to the smaller hallways in the new campus. By not carrying backpacks around the building, it ensures that the slimmer hallways are clear, in case of an emergency, as well as minimizing hallway traffic. 

Many students are frustrated by this policy, such as sophomore Becky Lechota, who says, ““I understand why they chose to implement the rule but it makes it a lot more difficult to be able to manage materials between classes and carry all your stuff and have everything you need for the day.”

However, students are allowed to carry bags smaller than 5 by 8 inches, lunchboxes, and new this year: drawstring bags. According to Dr. Stanton-Anderson, “Drawstring bags are smaller and flatter in design and don’t have the capacity to expand in the same way that a backpack can. A backpack can have several compartments and has the capacity to expand and become quite large, pending the actual size of the backpack.”

This means that drawstring bags have less compartments to hide illicit materials in, and are smaller, so they won’t crowd the hallways and classrooms. They also give students an opportunity to carry their stuff with them throughout the school day. 

The reason behind allowing drawstring bags this year was that students did want something to carry their stuff in. Dr. Stanton-Anderson stated, “There’s going to be the need for personal items that people need to have a carrying device for, so between small bags and drawstrings, we feel like we’ve covered the issues that people might have.” 

But, many students don’t like using drawstring bags. Junior Katherine Tentler says, “They are unreliable and they break easily if under a lot of weight.” 

The decision to allow drawstring bags was made in collaboration with student government. Ms. Dempsey and Dr. Stanton-Anderson met with them last year to discuss bag options, specifically the possibility of allowing drawstring bags. They also discussed the potential of see-through bags, but student government asked to do some research on it, and since student government did not formally request them, they were not added to the list of approved bags for this year. 

Dr. Stanton-Anderson did say that clear bags were a possibility for future years as she, “wouldn’t take them off the table, but they’d have to be small backpacks.” 

While there is the potential for a longer list of approved bags next year, the backpack rule will likely never change. Many factors, such as the small hallways and the threat of violence, will likely always exist. Administration has been attempting to make navigating the school more convenient and safe for students, by usually not requiring textbooks for class and putting the bulk of the lockers in the east wing in the center of campus for easier access, but students are still struggling to carry all their stuff. 

Yet, students still struggle to carry all of their stuff, especially with the five minute passing periods this year. As sophomore Kiki Novakovic, who’s locker is on the second floor of the west wing, says that the isolated location of her locker, “just makes it a lot harder and a lot more difficult to navigate.” 

Dr. Stanton-Anderson has been pleased with the general adherence to the backpack rule by students this year. “I think that the drawstring is really a great compromise.” Dr. Stanton-Anderson states, “I hope that people take advantage of that if they feel like they’ve got too much in their arms. But otherwise, I see kids doing a great job with this, so I’m really pleased.”