You and I may have heard many people say that this school has gotten so strict, but has it really? We will be interviewing a senior and a freshman who recently graduated. We will ask questions about the new and recently added rules that I’ve heard people complain about. People complain that it has gotten so much stricter, but we will find that out soon by interviewing these people and asking them questions.
We know that many big rule changes in the past couple of years have been controversial with students at Pasco High. Examples of these big rule changes are the cell phone ban, which was imposed at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, and the introduction of no off-campus lunch in the 2023-2024 school year.
We interviewed a freshman, Kimberly Cardenas, about what she thinks about these controversial rules.
Did the cell phone ban help you focus more in school?
“Yes, I don’t use my phone anyway, so it did help me be more successful in school.” The second question we asked her was
Is having no off-campus lunch necessary?
“I think off-campus lunch is unnecessary because people should have the freedom to go out and eat, because not everybody likes school food, and there are more places to hang out with friends outside of school.”
Would the school still be strict if they didn’t add all the rule changes?
“Yes, I feel all schools are still strict in their way, with and without the rule changes.”
Next, we interviewed Blanca Velazquez, a student who graduated from Pasco High in 2021, and we asked her similar questions.
Did you experience the cell phone ban? If yes, did it help you improve and focus better in school? If not, do you wish the rule had been implemented when you were still attending PHS?
“Well, in my time in school, I did not get to experience the cell phone ban, but we could not be on our phones during class, which I think helps get focused on what we had to do in class.”
Is having no off-campus lunch necessary for students?
“In my opinion, no. When I went to school, I remember one of the things I liked was going out on lunch with my friends. Of course, I got back on time, but sadly, some students won’t get back on time, and for those students, they have to pay the consequences.”
Was the school still strict before they added all the rule changes?
“Not at all, I think that’s why they start adding the new rules, because the rules they had before were the basics, because you could go out and come in at any time.”
Lastly, we interviewed Gabriela Valdivia, a senior here at Pasco High.
Did you get to experience the cell phone ban? If so, did it help you improve and focus better in school? If no, do you wish the rule had been implemented when you were still attending PHS?
“Yes and no, like 50/50. It did help me improve my learning here, but at the same time, I wish this rule wasn’t applied here. If I had a choice, maybe I would keep staying in PHs, but I just don’t like the cell phone rule.”
Is having no off-campus lunch necessary for students?
“It’s not necessary, I think it’s unfair because teens are going to want to go out for lunch, what if they don’t like the lunch they have and want something else?”
Is the school still as strict as it was before they added all the rule changes?
“No, I don’t think it was strict because, as we know, there wasn’t much security.”
To sum up our research, we concluded that many mixed opinions come from the students’ point of view that many rules students have said are unnecessary and unfair to the students who are attending or have attended Pasco High.
