Weber High to maintain hall-pass restrictions

Weber High School's limits on hall passes, put in place to keep students safe during a recent gang scare, are expected to stay in place — with a compromise.

Starting in January, the school will add to the time students have to walk to classes by one minute, principal Alan Stokes said. So they'll have six minutes to get where they're going — and stop off at the rest room if need be.

The move comes after teens started a petition to lift hall pass restrictions — at least, have teachers loosen up when nature calls.

"I think the biggest issue is just being able to go to the bathroom," student body vice president Kristy Dabb said.

About a month ago, the school was plagued with rumors and threats that gang members planned to converge on or near the school for a fight, Stokes said. School bosses took the threats seriously, and secured law enforcement officers to patrol the campus and maintain a presence inside the school.

Students had to wear their school ID badges and were stopped by administrators or police if IDs weren't visible. The school also implemented hall-pass restrictions to keep students in class.

"We did it for safety reasons. We needed to know at a glance if it was our student in the building or someone else," Stokes said.

The days passed without incident, and the ID edict was no longer enforced.

But the hall-pass restriction was, mainly because of its byproducts.

Thefts of student property, either from lockers or locker rooms, plummeted from an average 15 a month to virtually zero, Stokes said. Vandalism incidents also went from an average three a week to nothing. A survey showed that up to 98 percent of people surveyed said they feel safe at Weber High.

Business teacher Alan Rawlins says the policy reduces interruptions and keeps students focused.

"Several good things have come of it," Stokes said. "I think we'll keep the — I guess you could call it a restriction. ... We don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water, especially if it's causing those kinds of good things."

But some students are less enthused about the policy.

"At first it was hard, because we're so used to being able to get up and leave," Dabb said. "You can't go anywhere."

Great for academics — unless, well, you've got to go.

Stokes says teachers are asked to use sense in allowing students to have a bathroom hall pass in the event of emergencies. But for the most part, students basically need to use the bathroom before or after class.

"We're trying to keep a little bit of a lid on things to keep some order," Stokes said. "But we're asking (teachers) ... don't hold students in if they have that kind of emergency, or get sick or whatever."