Abreham Tekele

These are the 5 passes per quarter given to students. As you can see this student has already finished some of their passes in certain class hours and the quarter has not ended.

Five passes per quarter for each class, that’s how many times you are allowed to leave the classroom to either go to a different class, the library, or even the bathroom. The five pass rule confines students from frequently leaving the classroom. 

This new rule was introduced at the beginning of the school year. Along with other new school wide rules such as no phones allowed in the classroom. The pass rule located on students’ planners indicates, “All students will get 5 passes for each classroom per quarter. There are additional passes for the office, nurse’s office, etc. You cannot leave class without a pass.”  This is the rule that all students must follow and teachers must enforce.

The 5 pass rule was implemented to keep students in class, and to get them to a point where they prioritize staying in class. According to dean Alex Endeshaw he believes it creates the thought for students that, “this is what’s most important and if I have to be outside of class I have to make sure I actually have to get out of class.”

The new pass rule has had quite an impact on some students. Students have stated that they feel the new pass rules are too extreme and that 5 passes per quarter is not enough. According to Bladder and Bowel, “the normal number of times to urinate per day is between 6 – 7 in a 24 hour period. “ And when you take into account that in a quarter there are 64 days, 5 passes per quarter for each class is unrealistic. That is why staff recommend students to go to the restroom during their passing hours, but that has its own issues as well. Generally bathrooms have space for 2-5 people for use, but during passing hours the bathroom is beyond capacity. Student Mubashir Mohammud states that, “During passing hour, I can’t even go into the bathroom. There’s to many guys in there, at least 20 of them just standing there. It’s basically impossible to go during passing hour.” Other students share the same feeling towards the restrooms, indicating that going during their passing hour doesn’t always work. 

Leaving to use the restroom with your pass can also be a hassle. The rules for the bathroom are that they are open only during passing hours, and when class starts they are locked. So when students need to go to the bathroom during class time they are forced to look for a dean to open the bathroom doors, which sometimes can take a while resulting in students missing out on their lessons.