As spring break arrives, CHS administrators have announced that lockers around campus will begin getting removed within the upcoming weeks.
“We will be removing some of our lockers on campus during spring break and beyond,” wrote CHS Assistant Principal of Student Safety, Facilities, & Athletics Tyler Lee in a statement to the CHS community via StudentSquare.
According to CHS Principal Bennett Wutkee, the decision to begin slimming lockers comes as a result of decreased use, desires to clean up campus and increased convenience of management for administration.
“We’re always looking for ways to enhance the campus and improve the physical environment. When evaluating how many lockers we are using, we could see that a lot of them weren’t actually being used.” said Wutkee “It will be easier to supervise the lockers now because they’ll be in a more condensed area.”
Wutkee believes that decrease in locker usage comes as a result of digital technology being used in classrooms.
“As textbooks become more digital and we’re using our devices more for everything, the need for a locker is different than it was when I was in high school,” said Wutkee “When I was in high school everyone used to locker but nowadays, with so much of what students need being available on one device, you don’t really need the locker.”
In the message, Lee included a map displaying which locker groups will be removed as a result. Lockers near classrooms S4-8, classrooms L4-5, classrooms P1-P4, the left side of the media center, as well as, the exterior wall of the upper quad bathrooms will all be removed within the upcoming weeks.
A recent sample conducted by Wutkee found that only 20% of the lockers being removed near the cafeteria were actually in use, contributing more to his overall consensus – students aren’t using lockers anymore.
“I did a small sample over by the lunch area and only 20% were in use. Fewer students are really using lockers anymore.”
In a recent study conducted by the CHS Courier where the individual lockers available near the school library, were recorded hours after the announcement, findings reported that out of the 145 individual student lockers approximately only 10 were actually in use (14.5%), as well as, entire groups of over 20 lockers around campus can be seen completely dormant.
Freshman Dylan Cox, who often took advantage of the convenient location of his locker for sports, expressed his frustration with the decision.
“My locker is up against the gym wall. It’s in a really good position because I do water polo and track, so it’s very accessible to the pool deck and the field,” said Cox “It was convenient, so of course I’m frustrated that they’re taking them away.”
However, Cox said that he does understand the circumstances and reasons why CHS admin would come to this decision.
“In my opinion, it would’ve made sense to keep these lockers and just remove the lockers at the other areas described, but I can understand why they are removing them,” said Cox. “A lot of the time they (the lockers) are empty.”
Students whose lockers have been removed may visit CHS Communications Coordinator Brittani Daniels in the school office in order to receive a new locker assignment.
“If you have a locker on one of the walls that is highlighted on the map below, please go to Ms. Brittani [Daniels] in the office [before spring break] to get a new locker assignment,” wrote Lee.
