Attendance, obviously, is something a student should hold themselves accountable for. If we’re not here we can’t expect to benefit from our classes or schedules. This, of course, is understood by the majority of us, but where tardiness is considered becomes a sort of gray area for students. What do you lose being late as opposed to being absent, how much do you actually miss? Is there an excuse for being tardy? If our schedules rotate to accommodate those who can’t make it to school on time, why then are students being punished for such? If you asked me, I’d tell you that the tardy system is ridiculous. Having to stand in lines of up to 20 people to receive a late pass, being held longer than you should be and your time being taken just to be reminded that all you are is a number. It’s genuinely ruined days for me before. Our new policy now seeks to penalize these tardies, including a slew of detentions and asinine disciplinary action, such as phone calls home and mediations with assistant principals.

I spoke to some friends on the topic, some with mixed opinions, some completely against the policy. Out of the twelve people I spoke to, nine were completely against the new policy and two weren’t sure how to feel. 

South High senior Joshua Juica Cruz was on the fence, stating “It’s dumb, but [could] work. They want people to be on time but it’s not fair to have someone who’s [consistently] two minutes late have detention for time that’s easily made up.”

Traffic’s always an issue up and down Apricot Street. Between people coming out of the parking lot, people going in, red lights, and buses blocking intersections, it’s almost impossible not to lose at least a few minutes of time. Our students have no control over the road or driver’s around them, how can we hold them accountable for that?

Traffic isn’t the only reason somebody might be late. 

I spoke to my friends Denzel Rocha and Jacob Robinson, the latter who’s been having car troubles, and the former who has been his ride to school as of recent. “I understand the rule, but it’s unreasonable,” Jacob offered. “It’s harsh,” stated Denzel. “But I guess it’s not that hard to get it excused.” “Denzel got a detention slip and I don’t believe he deserved it, I feel guilty.” Jacob added, expressing his discontent with the new policy.

In my case, I have eight siblings. It’s difficult to navigate mornings, considering I have one sibling going to South with me and five younger ones in elementary/middle. It’s difficult, if my freshman sister isn’t ready to go, to have my mom leave and take me to school, and then go back and bring her. There’s a lot of running around to be done, and sometimes it’s just impossible to get in on time. 

But if I get to four tardies, I either take the detention on the fifth day or I stay home from school. The policy uproots itself when staying home becomes a better alternative than making an effort to show up at all. Not to mention, if I serve a detention it becomes even harder to get home than it was to show up. My mom has to pick up my sister, leave, pick up my elementary aged siblings, then pick me up, then leave from South AGAIN to pick up my middle school aged sister.

Let’s also take our eyes off our rotating schedules, which were implemented with the goal to reduce missed time in a first-period-everyday class. The solution has already been found, yet students are still being persecuted for the time they arrive?

The policy is not considerate of students’ lives outside the classroom or in, it only focuses on tardiness while avoiding the real issue: absence. It takes fourteen absences to get to the point of credit recovery, or even just not graduating. So many students miss school in its ENTIRETY, without even trying to come in. So why punish those making an effort, and doing their very best, rather than taking attention off the students that really need the help? 

All in all, the concept of tardy punishment is ludicrous. It’s counterproductive, inconsiderate, and pointless. It’s upsetting enough to be late, it’s much worse to be accosted for losing five minutes of class when the ball doesn’t get rolling for ten.