Should high schoolers be allowed to carry their book bags to and from classes? Most high schools in New York State do not allow students to carry their bags with them. Many students have expressed how happy they are to carry book bags to classes with them. However, as this policy changed due to Covid-19 precautions, and the concerns have diminished, some teachers and students wonder if the policy will revert to not allowing backpacks.  

Many schools have this rule for safety reasons. For example, the dress code for the 2019-2020 school year from Belfast Central School says “As a rule, students are not permitted to carry book bags during the day. However, seniors are allowed to carry their book bags as a senior privilege.” This rule was put in place because the administration feared that students could be hiding things such as weapons, alcohol, or drugs in their bags and carrying these things to classes.  

While talking to students and staff of Belfast Central School, it has come to my attention that most people are happy with the new book bag rule. They believe that it is much more convenient to have all your supplies with you. A junior from Belfast had said “Yes! It is more convenient for moving between classes, and easier to keep track of all your stuff.” However, there are also people who talk about what an inconvenience it is to carry book bags around because of all the weight that is being put on your back throughout the day. “Most schools do not allow you to carry a book bag because it can be harmful to carry all that weight on your back,” according to “Why are Some Schools Banning Backpacks” by Math and Reading Help.com. There are some students who like the weight. “I don’t even mind how heavy it is, it gives me a good workout,” said Mary Hamer, a junior.  

This is an important topic to talk about because students should be able to know for sure if they can carry around their book bags or not, or if that rule will be changing soon. Being unsure of the rule’s status is not fair to the students or even to the staff. This makes the staff unable to enforce the rules as well because they will not know the exact rules if they keep changing. Therefore, the school should just settle on a rule. Yes, carrying our book bags has been nice, and it would be great to know that this will continue to be an option allowed by the Code of Conduct.