Before COVID student backpacks were to remain in their lockers during the school day. According to the Geneva High School Student Handbook, it is allowed for students to use bags to and from school, but they were required to leave them in their lockers after the school day had begun.

Not following these rules would follow a 3-strike system that is stated in the handbook. The first offense is a warning, and the student is asked to put the backpack in their locker. The second offense results in detention and the backpack being sent to the deans. Lastly, if there is a third offense the student must put their bag in the Dean’s office for their parent or guardian pick up.

However, this rule has been altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, students are allowed to carry their backpacks from class to class to avoid crowding near the common areas in the school.

“The primary goal of students being able to carry backpacks last year and this year is to prevent as many students as possible from being exposed to COVID and then being quarantined or excluded from school,” Doug Drexler, assistant principal of Geneva High School said. “During COVID, one of the things that we have tried to do is minimize the number of students congregating during passing periods. Students carrying backpacks have less need to visit their lockers, so we don’t have students right next to each other visiting their lockers.”

However, there are some positive and negative attributes that come with carrying backpacks around school all day.

“The students don’t have to go to their locker as often, so they are more likely to be on time to class,” Mia Bradley, Freshman at Geneva High School, said.

“Some of our classrooms are pretty small and having lots of backpacks in the room makes it more challenging to get around the room,” Drexler said. “I think many students also carry more than they need to in their backpacks, and they get really heavy, which isn’t good for their backs.”

Even though the students are the ones carrying around their backpacks, this new rule affects teachers and their classrooms as well. Some teachers love this new backpack rule and how students can get to class quicker, while others are not fond of how the backpacks crowd their classrooms.

“I think a lot of it may depend on what specific classes they (the teachers) teach and the specific classroom that they teach in,” he said.

With this new rule in place, everyone at Geneva High School is wondering one question: will this new rule be permanent in the future?

“At this point, I think everything is year-to-year depending on the guidance that we get from outside organizations (CDC, IDPH, ISBE),” he said. “We waited until August to make a backpack decision for this year so that we had the most updated guidance available to us. Since the guidance continues to change, we may wait until late summer again to make the decision for next year.”

Whether students and teachers like it or not, they will have to carry their backpacks around the school for the foreseeable future. However, students and teachers at Geneva High School demonstrate flexibility and perseverance during this uncertain time.