The students of Eaton High School have been openly expressing their opposition to a new rule at the school that does not allowing students to bring blankets to class.

For years, Eaton High School has allowed students to bring blankets to class. As soon as the temperature outside dropped, students started carrying blankets around, but this year, a new rule was put into place prohibiting blankets in class. This decision was right decision for the school.  

On October 17, Principal Jay Tapia came on the regular morning announcements with some news for EHS. He informed the students that starting on October 22, blankets will no longer be allowed in school. For many students this was an outrageous announcement. The classroom immediately filled with students expressing their anger and confusion and arguments between those students and the ones who saw where Tapia was coming from.

There are many factors that went into this decision. One factor, although small, was danger. There was not a huge number of dangerous incidents revolving around blankets, but there were enough for that to be a factor in the decision making process. Blankets allow for many different dangers. When walking down the stairs, if someone is walking in front of someone else and has a blanket draped over them, the person walking behind can step on it causing the person or both people to fall and get hurt. Another dangerous part of having them is vaping. Vaping has become a very prominent part of teenage culture recently and with that, students have become more bold in participating in vaping. People were using the blankets as a way to get away with vaping in class.

A larger factor of the decision was that students would leave them around. When teachers were asked to help make the decision, one of the most popular reasons for teachers had for wanting them gone was that they had to pick the blankets up. Students would leave their blankets all around the school for the teachers to pick up. It is not the teacher’s job to pick up after the students, but they were having to, so when asked about them, the results of the vote to get rid of blankets was 5-6.

But the biggest factor in this decision made by Mr. Tapia is professionalism. Tapia says, “What are we here for? Not a slumber party.” Professionalism in high school is important because it promotes more focus. Having a blanket is related to relaxation and sleep, so by having one in class, focus is very easily lost. In order to do the best the students can do in school, they have to be aware and ready to learn which was being prohibited by the presence of blankets.

While students at other schools are fighting to be able to wear the clothes they want, the student of Eaton High School are upset about the blankets no longer being allowed in class. The EHS students need to try to see Mr. Tapia’s point of view on the situation. Tapia is not trying to be mean by doing this; he isn’t the villain. Mr. Tapia is just trying to make the school the best it can be. The people who don’t understand that should try to see the situation from his perspective or even talk to him about it. They should also take into account how lucky they are to have this problem. Eaton High School allows their students to wear what they want and express themselves through their appearance. At many schools, the students do not get this privilege, so EHS students should be happy that their biggest problem is blankets being banned. The people with a problem should try to see Tapia’s reasons and where he’s coming from, and the people around them should try to help them understand.