Last Wednesday morning during first period, Principal Dr. Craig Woodall came over the loudspeakers and announced that from now on there will be hall passes required for students exiting the classroom. The reactions were mixed, from nonchalance to anger and frustration.

So why hall passes, and what changes are going to affect students because of it?

Ruben Caro started on December 3, and his official title is Hall Monitor. His job is contained to inside Rocky, while Campus Security monitors outside in the parking lots. “What my duty is, is to make sure kids are in class, make sure they’re getting there on time and just not wandering the halls. Make sure the doors are secure,” said Caro of his job description.

“Hall monitors” like Caro are already in all other PSD high schools. According to Caro, while Rocky has never had a Hall Monitor or a position like it, Fort Collins HS has 3 HM’s, and Poudre HS and Fossil Ridge HS both have 2.

“I guess it was getting pretty out of control,” Caro said about why Hall Monitors were implemented. “Kids were just wandering the halls during class time; it was like groups of them, and it was a distraction to other classes because they were being loud in the halls.”

Dean Russell Stapleton echoed this sentiment when asked what the motivation behind hall passes was. He said that the policy was motivated by a desire “to reconnect to a quieter academic environment.”

“Not to say that all learning has to be quiet,” he elaborated, “but extra noise through the halls [is] people kind of taking advantage because I think what we do really well here at Rocky is give freedom to kids to make good decisions. That was being taken advantage of.”

Another issue, along with disruption, is the safety of students. According to a December 2018 BBC article, 94 school shootings happened in the US in 2018. While these events are very rare, the hall passes are designed as an extra security measure along with helping students learn. 

“With a hall pass we are better able to answer the question ‘Where are you supposed to be?'” said Dr. Woodall regarding the administration’s motivation. “If I was interacting with you and not getting the response that I needed, then I would call for more people.” Dr. Woodall clarified that this is the process all administrators and the Hall Monitor would use in the event of suspicious behavior.

Dr. Woodall said that while reactions to the hall passes have been mixed, most students will not be drastically affected by the hall passes. Overall this policy isn’t meant to police students and prevent them from ever leaving class, but it is meant to regulate the overabundance of wandering and disruption in the halls.

“The vast majority of students are used to accountability when they’re not in class,” Dr. Woodall said, “we’re just asking that everyone, staff, and students, embrace this change to give it a chance to be successful because I think it will create a better learning environment, and a safer learning environment if we all get on board with it.”.