If you ask any teacher in Westlake how they feel about the high school, they’ll tell you how much they love our building and how it’s the best school they’ve ever worked at. Westlake High School is undoubtedly a great school to attend. But just because something is good doesn’t mean it can’t improve.

Many students in our school are unsure of why we still must sit four to a table during our lunch period while the other covid restrictions have been relaxed. Many students can’t sit with their friends, and the issue hasn’t been resolved despite student discontent. 

In addition, many students feel the lunch monitors are too strict. One student bought thirty cookies during their lunch period with their own money and received a detention for wasting school resources, despite the fact that the student ate some cookies, gave others to their friends, and took the rest home. None were wasted, and if anyone was to blame, it would be the school for selling that many to them.

Furthermore, students who’ve been sick recently have had tough luck with their attendance hours. Students who have 60+ hours of missing school due to sickness can’t miss anymore without a doctor’s note. But many students have pointed out that not all illnesses require a doctor’s visit. In addition, not all families can afford to go to a doctor’s office on such short notice. Most appointments must be made several weeks in advance, and by that point, the illness would resolve. Now the sick students will have to attend school, putting both themselves and others at risk. 

Finally, the dress code in our school isn’t applied equally. I performed an experiment yesterday to see how long I could wear a hood in school without having a teacher tell me to pull it down. I went until 6/7th period at lunch. But in the very next period, I witnessed several other students wearing hoods and even hats in the hallways to no one’s complaint. I acknowledge the fact that the school uses the no hats/hoods policy to ensure safety within our building. However, most teachers don’t enforce the rule, which makes it frustrating for students when a strict teacher makes them ruin their outfit. On the track, many students on the boys track team have complained about not being allowed to take their shirts off when running on the track as the temperature rises. This rule feels strange, considering the fact that it didn’t exist (or at least wasn’t enforced) during cross country season in the fall. Both the girls on the track team and girls at our school in general feel that the dress codes are frustrating as well for an array of reasons, many of which don’t feel like legitimate excuses not to let students express themselves through clothing.  They want change.

In conclusion, Westlake High School is a great place to learn. But just because something is good doesn’t mean it can’t get better. The quibbles can be improved, and the school can become a place where students can feel more comfortable.