VIEWPOINT
By Noah Mintie, Current Staff
Even the iconic Nifty Nibble cookies are smaller this year.
For me, the West Bend High Schools have always been a place of opportunity and safety, which is why it feels discouraging to say that this year, most students feel resentment like a dead weight within their chests, a weight that drags down with every stride through the halls. But what has changed? Why does this dead weight hang?
Altercations
Homecoming week was lively with school spirit, heavy anticipation, and a lot to think about. Emotions were high, which unfortunately made it the worst time for several incidents in and around the West Bend High Schools to occur. There was a hold the morning of Oct. 4. This was the most major altercation, yet other incidents (and even more rumored ones) acted as gasoline to fuel the blazing inferno of rumor and suspicion. Adult community members took to social media, using the events to fuel their private agendas. The school sent out a few updates that provided little information to calm down the buzz, and even now it is very difficult to decipher what truly happened.
Now the school feels less safe. Even if my fellow students don’t fear getting hurt, there is no denying that they look at the school differently. Students are now confined to the two cafeterias and the gym for the half hour before the school day begins its routine. Despite being planned before the altercation, this procedure change still felt like retaliation. We all felt like we were being punished for something others did. The lack of safety stems not just from the splash of violence enacted by a small number of kids, but from the overall reaction of those with unbreakable authority over us. What if someone else does something stupid? What if we lose other privileges? Why is the only solution that which compromises us all?
These events are confusing, interesting, and ever-so-slightly frightening to students. Especially with rumors refusing to put out the flames. Now, fake flyers have been posted around the school and social media making absurd claims about inappropriate student behavior. At a glance, these flyers seem official, with many students perpetuating the issue by claiming that they are real.
The social climate has been completely shifted, with negative attitudes thriving and becoming the foundation of every joke. Misconduct may not be at an all-time high, yet it is certainly present in many corners of student life, feeling more frequent than it actually is or has been.
A Changing Environment
For one thing, class sizes have drastically increased. Never before have my classes been as crowded as they currently are, and adjusting is very difficult. I don’t really feel at home in a class with 25 to 30 people around me. It makes it harder to get to know both my peers and teachers because it all lacks intimacy. I feel as though I blend into a sea of people, unable to forge my own path in the same way that I once could.
This hurts the teachers as well. Even with only five or so people added to a class crowd, that’s around 20% more added to the student body. Even if the teacher is a superstar who puts all effort into getting to know each student, they either lose too much time over-investing in understanding their students, or keep the amount of time dedicated to this practice the same and need to be more shallow.
I feel this in several classes, where I just feel as though the teacher does not know me as well as they could in previous years. This affects everyone, causing a state of disconnect between teacher and student. Such a relationship dictates much of a high schooler’s academic performance, so it is concerning that it is stretched so thinly.
Other system changes are very divisive. Resource time is now largely optional for upperclassmen, having been moved to the beginning of the day. This change was polarizing, but one thing that is commonly agreed to be a drawback is that now students can have anywhere from three to five classes in a row with no break. Personally, having four classes in a row, this makes focusing very difficult on a bad day, and nobody is immune to a bad day every now and then.
Also in the beginning of the day, the aforementioned restrictions make these cafeterias louder, less comfortable, and an overall terrible way to start the day. Academic work cannot be easily achieved successfully due to the distracting nature of the environment, even in the East Cafeteria, which is supposed to be quiet.
All of this stress tends to funnel into the little things. I distinctly remember the chicken wraps allowing up to three strips per wrap a few weeks ago, but now that number has been reduced to two. This is obviously a very small change, yet when I sit through a long school day in packed classes, with stressors surrounding me, it’s impossible not to notice.
It’s as if the problem has nothing to do with the amount of food I get, but the fact that all of the school’s issues are so abstract that the only concrete thing to latch onto is the fact that a number two has been drawn over a number three in my lunch line. A minor thing becomes the only thing an adolescent brain can truly confront. This is why many students will complain in conversation or post to their Snapchat story how frustrated they are at the school lunches. It is not the lunches, but rather what they represent: privilege loss due to no fault of their own.
These aren’t the only systemic shifts of the school year, but they definitely are the first that come to mind. They are not changes that are made for the best, because even if there is technical justification for them, it does not matter to students. No matter the means, forever important are the ends.
The Effects
Students now have two choices. We either accept these changes as the new norm and move on, or we try to better the situation ourselves. The former is undesirable and nihilistic, and the latter is difficult for students, perhaps impossible if these changes were made for an indisputable reason with no alternative. Even in the subconscious, these problems nag at students. They rest atop the piles of information in our minds.
When we consider the year as a whole, they are the first things that we pick up, and the last things that we forget. That is the reason school is just not the same this year.
(Photo by Noah Mintie, Current Staff.)
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