Within the past recent years, tardies to school have been excessive and out of hand. Administration searched for ways to decrease the number of tardies and found the solution: one that many students do not agree with.

For five lates, a student receives a detention. For ten lates, two detentions and so on.

Every student dreads receiving the slip of paper saying they have received either a morning or afternoon detention for five tardies, myself included.

Morning detentions are held before school in room S-234 from 7:15 to 7:45 a.m. Afternoon detentions are held in room B-153 from 3:00 to 3:30 p.m. If a student fails to attend or is late for his or her assigned date and time, the students receives an additional two detentions.

Be present. Be on time. No cell phones. No computers or any electronic device. No food. No talking. No sleeping. Students must bring academic work/reading. These are the rules for detentions.

Current upperclassmen didn’t have to face this rule as underclassmen, so many disagree with it. Since it’s new to them, the change is understandably frustrating.

However, despite my own frustrations, it is unreasonable for the current freshmen and sophomores to complain about this procedure because it was put into place before they entered the school.

Not only have students voiced their concern, but parents have too. Many parents have been fighting this rule of detentions claiming it is unfair and not reasonable.

While I do not want to be the student in detention because it does not sound like fun, I understand that administration is just trying to do their best in eliminated the excessive tardies; because they care about their students.

Tardies are excused with doctors notes, so often times the students receiving a detention have slept in or coming in late without an excuse. What student doesn’t enjoy a little extra sleep? I know I do but is it really worth an extra hour or so of sleep, five times to have a detention?

There are ways around having a tardy. For students arriving after 11 AM it is no longer a late, but a half day. Many students have picked up on it to avoid detentions, which is a smart thing to do.

With this procedure in place, administration has already witnessed a drop in the number of tardies per year. Administration is enforcing this to help students get away from the idea of coming in late and missing class.

As much as I would love to take an extra hour of sleep and miss first period, I do not want to be sitting in detention at 7:15 AM.

Instead of complaining to administration about it, parents should take control of their children and make them get to school on time so they do not have to experience the issue of receiving a detention.

High schoolers are old enough to have consequences for their actions of coming in late and having to suffer thirty minutes of detentions. If they don’t want the consequence, then they won’t be late more than five unexcused times.