by Saamir Baker
Staff Writer

Senior open campus is something seniors look forward to every year. Sadly, this privilege has been abused in recent years, so a new system was implemented in April in order to monitor students more efficiently.

Technology and Art teacher Marcie Hull came up with this new system where all seniors get a special barcode to keep on their Student IDs that allows them to scan in and out of the building with very little delay. The previous system involved students writing their names down on a sheet of paper and was clumsy and slow. In the new system, when a student scans their ID, they appear on a Google spreadsheet with the time and date of the scans in and out. Taking part in this program is simple: a senior must not be failing any classes or have received an interim in the 3rd quarter. They also must adhere to the rules about food: they are allowed to bring back food for themselves (a huge change compared to last year) but it cannot be for another student. Seniors are able to use open campus during their lunch band or if they have a free period during  X or Y band, but cannot use it during any other bands. There is no time limit on how long students can be out as long as they are not late for class.

Counselor Zoe Siswick handles all of the administrative aspects of this idea. Her duties include accounting for when people come back late and being responsible for all eligible students having their barcodes. She noted that students were very excited and open towards this new approach but teachers weren’t as excited. The biggest fear amongst the staff was students abusing the policy, but a democratic poll amongst the teachers showed they still favored the new policy by a landslide.This could be a new era for senior open campus if this idea goes well and is not abused like in previous years. There will always be tweaks, but so far the bar codes have been off to a hot start.