With a new school year comes a lot of changes. Some good, some bad, some downright disturbing. But, we all stick it out anyway and get through the school year in one piece. So why do we still insist on arguing so much when it never gets us anywhere?

Securly is the new topic that seems to be overtaking the school, with most students not in favor of it. I hear you, and I understand you. Why should you be tracked when Mother Nature is calling? Why should you have to open your computer to visit the toilet? Well, I’ll tell you why. It’s because there was a problem that needed to be addressed by the district.

Last year, some students were quick when using the bathroom. Most students, though, were not. Matter of fact, most students didn’t even use the old bathroom pass system that everyone seems to think was so amazing.

So why would the school board want to keep in place a system that doesn’t keep kids in place? When they find a solution that works for the majority, the minority get mad. And the kids it is for, the majority, are also mad. Everyone’s mad and for what? Because a solution you don’t like works? It’s not that serious.                

I’ve heard complaints saying that “the teachers should’ve been controlling their class better” and that we “don’t need more restrictions on bathroom passes”. Tell me how you would keep 30 teenagers in one room for 55 minutes straight. Teachers already have so much on their plates with students and grading, and making sure you don’t take half the class in the bathroom isn’t in their job description.

I’ve also heard students saying that it doesn’t work because people will still be gone for 20 minutes. While that’s true, let’s take a second to think critically.

Last year, that student would be gone for a while and it would go mostly unnoticed. This year, that student will be gone for a while and it will be noticed because it’s logged on the teacher’s computer, so they won’t be able to do it as often. Not to mention the fact that Securly stops what I like to call the “amateur skippers” from leaving class often, too.

The “amateur skippers” stick by the rules and do their work, but they will take the opportunity to leave class if they see one. So if there is a lack of opportunity, there’s a lack of outcome. That means less people in the hallways, which is exactly what Securly was made for.

Securly is made with good intention, and it doesn’t harm anyone. Is it annoying? Yes. Does it keep kids in the classroom? Most definitely! It shouldn’t be this much of a debate. When change comes, and it doesn’t immediately affect you in a good way, why are you so quick to hate it? 

It’s unnecessary to have such a strong opinion on something when you won’t even think to look at the other side of it. Also, Securly is new! We haven’t even had enough time with this system yet to form an educated opinion. When we’re a year into Securly, maybe I’ll have changed my opinion and I’ll hate it like the rest of the student body. But for now, I’ll accept Securly because it’s a software aimed to help students, whether we like it or not.