Hallways at M-A are lined with bright yellow lockers, but most of them are left untouched. With most students carrying around books, lunch boxes, and sports equipment —and with most school materials being online—are lockers still a necessity, or just a relic of the past?
To answer this question, the M-A Chronicle polled 249 juniors to see how many students actually use their lockers. While 69% of the students do not own a locker, 14% use their lockers for sports equipment and 7% use them for storing school supplies. Another 10% of the students own a locker but do not use it.
Unclear instructions may have led to decreased locker usage: some students missed the chance to sign up at the start of the school year.
Sophomore Anna Abbas wishes for a locker. “During volleyball season, I had to carry a big bag to each of my classes, which was really inconvenient,” she said. “Dragging two backpacks around all day was just too much. I wanted to sign up for a locker, but I didn’t know where to fill out the form.”
At the start of the year, students are given a chance to sign up for a locker at orientation or online through a Google Form, but many students miss the station at orientation or never see the link to the Form.
For athletes, bulky bags full of sports equipment make navigating crowded hallways difficult. Although Abbas believes having a locker would benefit her, she still has doubts. “Honestly, the lockers are really dirty, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving my valuables in there, and my bag might not even be able to fit in the lockers,” she said.
Sophomore Felix Crim, on the other hand, has a locker but never uses it. “At orientation, someone asked me if I wanted a locker, and I just took one, but I have never opened it. I don’t even know where it is,” he said.
Even for students who have a locker, it can be hard to access it on a large campus. With long hallways, spread out buildings, and short passing periods, getting to a locker between classes can be both difficult and inconvenient.
While Crim recognizes the potential benefits of having a locker, he finds the system unhelpful. “I could put school books inside and have my stuff for block days and switch them,” he said. “But M-A only has five minutes of passing time, so it’s not accessible, especially given how big the campus is.”
Junior Ismael Peña-Arreola, however, uses his locker everyday. He keeps textbooks, perfume, and lip gloss inside his locker, and he decorated the interior with butterflies and mirrors. “I go to my locker every day during brunch and lunch,” he said. “It has become a great hangout spot for my group and allows me to touch up my makeup and perfume.”
While some students expressed concerns over goods being stolen from their lockers, Peña-Arreola felt confident that it wasn’t a problem. “Things aren’t gonna be stolen,” he said. “Not unless you don’t lock it.”
While lockers may not be used by everyone, they still serve a valuable purpose for many students, and they aren’t in the way of students who don’t use them.
