Backpacks are gone this year! Century middle school students have all been wondering why, and it’s simply because of safety.  

The Administrators have taken away backpacks from middle school students for their welfare and safety, but what’s not safe about them? They are tripping hazards, and administration can more clearly see what students are bringing in and out of the school which makes the school a safer environment because of the dangerous materials students can be carrying around.

To start, students brought way too much unneeded stuff to class, such as phones, makeup, and more which caused them to be very disorganized. The backpacks then got very heavy, and it was much harder to carry them. This also caused a lot of things to get lost in backpacks. 7th grader Rachel Dawtthachin states, “My backpack was so humongous that I actually got stuff lost in it.”

In addition, the backpacks were also a tripping hazard and caused a delay in our drills. Teachers have also complained about not being able to move around the room, and rooms were getting too cluttered with backpacks. The backpacks can cause injury to those who come across its dangerous path. Mr. Goodman stated, “It is kind of a trip hazard in classrooms. There’s not a lot of space for extra backpacks.”  

Although some students can argue the opposite, they think we should not have enforced the new rule.  7th grade student Shannon Montgomery said, “I prefer having a backpack because it is easier to carry around supplies.” 7th grade student Isabella Machado says  “It’s way easier because we don’t bring a lot of unnecessary stuff to class that we don’t need.”  The backpack rule was very helpful for some and unhelpful for others.