Carroll High School is massive. In between classes, students weave through classmates, rushing to their next classroom in fear of hearing the bell before they make it. Most kids travel long distances with the seven-minute timer pushing them to walk faster, leaving them with no time for restroom breaks, stopping at their lockers, or even saying hi to a buddy in the hall. 

Senior Grace Torres goes from American Sign Language in the freshman side to Composition in the 10-12 side of the building.

“I do not have the time to stop by my locker or the bathroom and usually the bell is ringing right when I walk through the door,” Grace said.

Torres said some of her teachers are aware of where she is coming from and are therefore more lenient on her making it to class on time, while others tell her that she can make it on time if she “walks with purpose.” 

Junior Owen Haberkorn goes from lunch to an upstairs math class and said he is late to class every day due to the crowds.

“It’s stressful because the crowd sometimes just stops and nobody moves,” Haberkorn said.

Owen said his teacher understands, however, that it’s hard with all the students and doesn’t count them tardy if they walk in late. 

Unfortunately, with the limited amount of time and extensive distances to walk, students often have to carry supplies for multiple classes.

“I always have to carry everything with me so I don’t go back to my locker because I know I won’t be able to make it on time, this makes my arms exhausted and I get pain in my wrists from how much I carry,” Torres said. 

With a longer passing period, the pain in students’ arms and hurried stress of sprinting through the halls could be prevented.

“I believe that the passing periods should be longer, it would cause less stress to the students, and we would not interrupt the teacher as much if we needed to use the restroom,” Haberkorn said.  

With the time students currently have, they often feel rushed, affecting their performance towards school and their work.

“I feel like I am going to be late everyday and it makes my anxiety worse,” said Torres. 

Mr. Johnston teaches Radio and TV and gives his students a “grace week” during the first week of school. Since his class is further than the average class, he is more lenient with his students making it to class on time. 

“After the ‘grace week,’ if students are showing up tardy daily I will sit down and talk to them,” said Mr. Johnston. 

Mr. Johnston said there may be some room for improvement on the seven-minute passing period.

“I think that for classes that are closer to each other, like English and math, the seven-minute period is fine, but for classes like Radio, meeting seven minutes could be a challenge,” said Mr. Johnston. “I think the seven minutes are fine, as long as teachers who are farther out like my class, [are] aware of where their students are coming from.”