Students at Central do not use the lockers. Why?
School lockers are scarcely used at Central High School in Rapid City. The average student will be found at their desk with their bag leaning against it due to a majority of them not signing up for a locker at the beginning of the school year. Of the 3,387 lockers in the building, only 406 are being used.
“They’re inconvenient. Maybe I would use it for my jacket, but would you want to go to your locker between periods everyday?” stated a junior. “Basically every class requires a computer and I wouldn’t want to be holding onto it all day.” According to several other students, lockers are merely decorations to keep up with school stereotypes and have no primary use other than to keep up tradition.
“Backpacks are more accessible because they’re right there if you need to grab a notebook or a folder or something,” said junior Robert Little. “A teacher could ask you to take out something you don’t have on you at the moment because you left it in your bag in your locker.”
While a good portion of lockers at Central High School have been collecting dust, there is the occasional moment when you’re walking down the hallway that you’ll notice someone by their open locker.
“I like to use mine for putting away things I don’t need till later, like binders, because it makes going through the metal detectors easier,” said a sophomore. “I also store my work uniform in my locker because I’m scheduled right after school so I can just change in one of the bathrooms.” In fact, some students who do own a locker save personal belongings that they either don’t want or won’t fit into their bags in their lockers such as perfume, extra supplies, extracurricular gear, etc.
“A friend of mine actually has had her keychains stolen a few times, so a locker would definitely help prevent theft,” said Little, “especially if she (which she has) spent around $35 on one.”
The future will decide whether lockers will continue to be relevant. As of today, the usage of lockers depends almost entirely on who you are and what you have.
