The hallways of Corry High will soon be overseen by the internet and monitored even closer than ever before thanks to the implementation of SmartPass.

There are definitely mixed feelings and complex emotions towards this new norm to say the least. In an unlikely turn of events, practically the entirety of the student body shares similar feelings towards this innovative pass. When it was announced at lunch on January 20, the entire cafeteria was filled with a collective sigh given by the students.

“It’s mid,” Lakota Donaldson, senior, stated. This however, is just the beginning of the criticism.

“It’s stupid,” Rachael Edgar, also a senior, expressed.

“Teachers don’t even use hall passes anymore,” Baylee Smith, junior, stated in order to express how pointless she feels it is.

Even some teachers believe it is a waste because not everyone will even use it as they have stopped signing hall passes altogether.

One teacher even expressed how, although she plans to use the SmartPass, it inherently punishes good students as does the majority of new rules. “You can get 15 minutes to go to the bathroom,” Mrs. Brown stated, “Who needs 15 minutes to use the bathroom?” This question reflects on how she feels this implementation might still allow for students to skip parts of class.

“Get rid of them,” Kayla Hayes, senior, states. She believes them to be pointless and prefers the old methods.

“Tedious,” Jentry Klieber states in a simplistic but fair manner.

An incredibly well put answer from Brilie Tasker shows the overall view students share. “It’s a violation of freedom and only a small minority get punished and the rest jump through hoops to avoid consequences,” Tasker states.

A more relaxed but still relatable take is given by Madam President, Emily Blake, is graciously given and is where another portion of the anger about this lies. “OMG. Don’t even get me started,” Blake states. “You can just make a pass for someone else so they don’t get in trouble. It’s flawed and only adds extra work for me when I’m gonna pee my pants.”

And while the majority of these statements are from students, some teachers shared their thoughts on the matter too. “I don’t know much about it but we need more training,” Mr. Bailey, gym and health teacher, stated. “It’s hard because students don’t carry their Chromebooks on them, but it is great for the future. Keeping track is tough for my classes but it is easier in a regular class setting.”

In order to get a better perspective on the entire school, Mr. Buona and Mr. Coats graciously shared their perspectives on the SmartPasses.

“It’ll be less work if the kids have charged Chromebooks and WiFi,” Buona stated, “It’s good in theory but the time limit is weird. Some teachers might be too strict with it. Students are allowed to be adults by being responsible for what they are doing and this limits that.”

Mr. Coats heavily agreed with what Mr. Buona stated and wanted to “double it.” He wanted to add that,”There’s something off about knowing how long someone is in there and you can see where they are going; there’s no privacy, anyone can access the pass and interpret it how they want.” Coats stated, “If you gotta go, you gotta go.”

All of these statements help describe the overall feeling that the entirety of the school can agree with or understand. The Smart Passes are a good idea, but they are accompanied by poor execution. It will take some time to get used to it and maybe even minor changes to how the passes work for them to start gaining support.