Lockers a right, not a privilege; new lockers a necessary purchase

October 2, 2009 • Megan Kemmett  
Filed under Individual Commentary, Opinion

Over the summer the FAHS boys’ locker room received  brand new lockers to help ensure the safety of students’ belongings and to help accommodate the need for usable lockers. Despite critics of the decision this purchase was a reasonable move for the administration to take.
Many of the old lockers in the boys’ locker room were being vandalized and theft was occurring, due to both Fort students and visiting teams. Even though Fort boys were somewhat at fault for the destruction of property, they still deserved new lockers. The decision to purchase new lockers for the boys was mainly based on the need for safer and stronger lockers in the boys’ locker room. The right to protection of personal items should be a basic right for students coming to school.
For a few years members of the administration had thought about the need for replacing the boys lockers; not only were the old lockers vandalized, but the poor design of the old lockers made it easy for doors and bottoms to bend.
“The lockers were getting to a point where they needed to be replaced because they were getting to be unusable,” Associate Principal and Athletic Director Mark Pollex said.

The lockers that the school replaced were the original ones from 1998, and were less durable than those installed over the summer. The new lockers are designed better to last longer. Also, they are made of a stronger, more durable metal. According to Pollex, to repair the damaged lockers would have been more costly than to replace them. In the long run it was wiser to replace the weak lockers now than it would have been to keep repairing them in the future.

When making the tough decision of what type of lockers to buy, the administration took into account the durability and quality of the assortment of lockers they had to choose from. They also had to consider size of the new lockers. Some critics of the purchase suggested that the boys received larger lockers than the ones currently in the girls’ locker room. According to multiple sources, the new lockers that the school purchased were very close, if not the same size as the old lockers. However, they are not as tall.

Some students thought that the boys getting new lockers, while the girls did not, was unfair. The reality is that the girls kept their lockers in much better condition and did not need brand new lockers. The school only has so much money in the budget and replacing unnecessary things would have just wasted money.

“Due to budget constraints we were only able to purchase lockers for the boys due to the need for them. The girls locker room is in good working order and will be looked at in the future,” Physical Education Teacher and Coach Mike DeRubeis said.

Some students thought the guys did not deserve new lockers, since some of the boys were the vandals of the old lockers. One of the things to consider is the fact it wasn’t completely FAHS boys who ruined the lockers. A lot of damage was a result of visiting athletes. The boys should not be punished for the actions of students from other schools. Getting new lockers basically became a necessity in order to provide space where students could safely store their things. Another thing to consider is that the Fort students who did vandalize the lockers were only a small group. However, they ruined the safety and protection for everyone over the course of 12 years.

“Hopefully the boys from Fort Atkinson and visiting schools will be better to the new lockers and will take better care of them in the years to come,” Sophomore Marcus Dahnert said.

Only time will tell if the new lockers will be able to withstand the daily use by the boys over the years.

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