The Beachcomber conducted a survey of 54 students in grades 10-12 focusing on closed campus. The responses indicated that many students are not following the policy.

In previous years, upperclassmen were allowed to leave school during lunch and free periods, but in the fall of 2018 administrators put an end to open campus.

“We [closed campus] for a couple of different reasons,” Director of Security Officer C.J. Piro said. “The first is building security, the second and bigger reason we have it is for accountability. So if we were to have a fire or something bad happen at the school, we would know where all the kids are because technically everyone should be in the building.”

Assistant Principal Ryan Patti suggested that the school was forced to adjust policies as times have changed.

“Have you ever had a grandparent who talks to you about how they didn’t have to lock their doors? That’s kind of the same way with schools,” Assistant Principal Ryan Patti said. “There didn’t used to be a police officer. A school was like a sanctuary. No one would touch it.”

Closed campus means no one can leave the building without being signed out. Students participating in CCP or Excel Tecc are allowed to come and go from their programs. Many students enrolled full time at Beachwood find this unfair. Some students have said they have thought about enrolling in one of those programs just to be allowed to leave.

“There shouldn’t be a select group of people who are allowed to [leave],” junior Isaac Kantarovich said.

“I would want to do college credit plus to get a break from school because I can’t leave otherwise,” sophomore Achintya Kaw said.

“[I think] a pretty high percentage [follows the policy],” Patti said.

However, when 54 students were surveyed in English classes, 57.4 percent of students polled said they have left campus in violation of the policy at least two or three times.

Only two people said they had been caught. 60 percent of students who leave go during their free periods or lunch. Some students said they left during assemblies as well.

62.5 percent of students who have left indicated that they go to their house, and 25 percent of students indicated they go somewhere to get food.

Closed campus is being enforced by the administration and Casey DeMay, the athletic department’s Administrative Assistant, at the front desk. If DeMay sees someone leave, she alerts Patti. From there, the student would most likely get a warning email, and if they continue to leave they might get an in-school-suspension.

Patti has caught about 15 students this year trying to leave.

“I wanted to close campus since the first year I got here,” Patti said. “My second year we had five kids from Shaker that just walked [into the school in] the middle of the day. That’s not something that’s okay.”

While the teachers may support the decision of closed campus, most students do not.  

“There is no reason to [close campus]. Most students have been waiting for it forever. Just because a few students abuse the gift of it does not mean that all students should be punished,” a sophomore wrote in response to the Beachcomber survey.

“The administration acts like we’re tiny, troublemaking children, and that we need to be restricted in all areas of school life,” another sophomore wrote.

Out of 54 responses, only 3 students said they supported closed campus or had no opinion.

“[They] should open campus because it makes students happy, feel free [and] do better in school because they feel good,” another student said.