School lockers are a controversial topic as Fallon moves into 2024 with more curriculum. Backpacks start to get heavier, and students’ backs start to strain. However, many claim that the amount your backpack weighs varies based on the teachers you have. Teachers and students both share their opinions. While some say that the main lockers aren’t needed and take up too much space, others hope to take some weight off their shoulders. 

     Seventh grader Anaika Deshpande shares her view of wanting lockers to store her books. When asked how much her backpack weighs, she claims, “My backpack weighs about fourteen to fifteen pounds.” As much as she agrees that Fallon is an outdoor school and doesn’t have enough space for these bulky objects, Anaika says, “It is important for students to have a space to organize their belongings as well as so they don’t get stolen as they could in a backpack.”

     On the other hand, Aadya Aravind, another seventh grader, says that these lockers aren’t needed because they take up too much space and are a hassle for the students. She states, “If someone has to go to class in the G building, but their locker is by the B building, it takes so much extra time to grab the stuff and go to class.” This would result in Fallon having longer passing periods, which would cut down the time of other periods. Aadya says that the blacktop is a great place to keep the lockers since it is fair for everyone. She also claims it is as strenuous to keep going to your locker and switching books as carrying a heavy backpack is. 

     Mrs. Chien, a seventh-grade science and medical detective teacher, has worked here since Fallon’s first year of being open and has experienced all of the changes at Fallon. She states, “It didn’t make a difference for the teachers when the lockers were around campus, but they took up space in the hallways.” Mrs. Chien also says that students would forget their homework in their lockers and would use class time to get them, but eventually didn’t have it. On the other hand, she thinks that it could help students to have something to store their belongings and grab on their way to class.

     But the ultimate word comes from Fallon’s principal, Mrs. Baligaya. She explained that the enrollment in our school is too large, with approximately one thousand six hundred and fifty students. Mrs. Baligaya also claims that we need available space to maneuver around the school campus and Fallon makes sure to have class sets of books so that way, students don’t have to carry textbooks back and forth to classes. According to our principal, there is nothing that can be done to bring the school lockers back. 

     Ultimately, it seems that the decision to implement lockers at Fallon is not a possibility. Some students may find them to be helpful, while others may not see the need for them around campus. It appears that Fallon students will have to wait until highschool to have their belongings organized in a locker.