Walking through the halls at South High, you may see students wandering aimlessly, filming Telenovelas or testing a physics lab. Another common sight within these halls is the dedicated employees that ensure our safety by monitoring the halls. However, it is these same dedicated employees who may not be returning to South next year.
While the exact details of a new policy regarding security staff throughout the district are unclear, what we do know is that many of the well-respected and crucially important personalities roaming the hallways and ensuring our safety may not have a presence at South next year. These are the same employees that have been at South for many years, have formed relationships with students and established themselves as prominent parts of our community. This redefining of the position, initiated by the district, will cause a complete turnover of the security staff, destroying these bonds.
These are relationships that are not formed over several days, weeks or even months. Relationships of trust, respect and security like those between South students and our hall monitors are cultivated over many years. Though new staff would surely be equally responsible and capable, strong relationships take time to develop. These relationships are vital for the school community, as they can promote students to respect the rules of South. If rules are being enforced by adults whom students respect and value, they will often be more likely to follow them for the sake of that relationship.
Especially in the light of events that have occurred this year, the Southerner believes that it is important to appreciate the hard work that the security staff does on a daily basis. They ensure our security at school, a place where our well-being should never be a concern.
Although we may not see the same familiar faces roaming the halls on the first day of school next year, all we can hope to do is continue to spread “just a little bit of love.”