Why School Makes Me Mad

by Jenn Szymielewicz

I am a senior at Odyssey High School in South Boston. I have been here since sophomore year and things have become a lot different from what they used to be. All these new things make me mad.

Back in sophomore year, you didn't have to be in the building until 8:00 a.m. and you wouldn't get a detention. In junior year, it went down to 7:50 a.m. Now senior year is the worst. After 7:25 a.m. if you come in you get a detention and I don't think it's fair. You have to walk though the metal detectors and get your bags searched and get your name taken down for detention, and this takes a long time because most of the time the people are slow.

I've only been late twice this year and every other time I've been in this building at 7:25 which doesn't make a difference. I still got detention. The headmaster complains that everyone's late for class and I think it's his fault. I'll be in the building at 7:25 and I don't get up to my classroom until almost 7:50. So many people come through the door in the morning so it takes forever to go through the metal detectors and the headmaster thinks everyone is late.

This school has a lot of other problems. I believe we should have the opportunity to go off school premises for lunch. We only get 20 minutes in the cafeteria; by the time the last person in line gets their lunch, the bell for the new period rings. The lockers on this floor are horrible. Half of them don't even work. We got some new ones but it isn't fair to everyone else who has an old one that doesn't even work. The windows, chairs, tables, etc. are ready to fall apart, they are so old. Most of the windows you can't open because they are too weak to stay up. The tables and chairs have writing all over them from 1988, which is so old. They lock the bathroom door 10 minutes before the period starts and 10 minutes before it ends. Now that's not fair. What if someone really had to go? What if they have a bladder problem and ended up having an accident?

There are many other things in this school that make me mad besides the ones I mentioned. All these things make it so no one wants to come to school. Odyssey has terrible attendance and these problems need to be solved so people will want to be here. I think there are some things that can make the school better. The headmaster can order new tables and chairs and he can order new books and class materials as well. The students will have a big role in this also. They will have to help raise money to be able to order these new things. They can raffle off things like baskets full of little stuff and have bake sales like the prom committee does. They will also have to stop doing graffitti.

I just want this school to become better than it is for the future kids that will be attending here.