Have you heard the new rules for wearing hats, hoods, and headphones in school? You should know that they aren’t allowed in class, but now teachers are more strict about wearing them in the hallway.

Mrs. Hammoud, the assistant principal of West Middle School. says that wearing hats and hoods are a safety issue. She explains, “ If we allow students to put their hoods up, we could have a stranger come in and put a hood over their and not know if they are a student or a stranger.” If students wear earbuds/headphones they could get distracted or forget to take them out before class. Mrs. Hammoud states, “students won’t be able to succeed in that class if he or she is listening to music.” Mrs. Hammoud just wants students to learn and be safe, that’s why she put these rules in place.

Students have opinions about these rules too. Lucie Porte, a 7th grader at West, says, “People should be able to cover their head for any reason if they want.” Most students understand that they can’t wear hats, hoods, or headphones during class. But they would still like to wear them during passing time. Else Kempf, a 7th grader at West, says, “I like to listen to music while I work and I like to have my hood up.” Students don’t really like these rules and want them to change a little bit.

Mrs. Hammoud, the assistant principal, has these rules to keep students safe but not all students realize that. Still, students would want to wear hats, hoods, or earbuds in the hallways/passing time. If students really want to change these rules they should talk to Mrs. Hammoud or the principal to change the rules.