New Year, Who Dis?
Even though Towson’s archaic structure has been pretty much untouched since it was built in 1949, there are still some changes that take place within the stone, cold walls.
One major change that comes to mind is the earlier start to the school day. In previous years, the start time was a sharp 7:50 in the morning. With the questionable change, Towson now commences at 7:40 am. With the earlier starting time comes disgruntled teenagers wandering into school with ten fewer minutes of sleep.
You may not have thought those dreadful, unforgiving Monday mornings could have gotten any worse but as I eat my breakfast 10 minutes earlier and stare at the inky blackness outside of my window I realized they could. Various students have described the time change as “inconvenient,” “confusing,” and “hard to adjust to.”
Dragging yourself out of bed ten minutes earlier each morning isn’t the only consequence of the time change. In previous years, the sea of disorganized students was released at 2:12 to return to the comforts of home, so you would think that this year the illustrious bell would send you on your way at 2:02. However, students are set free at 2:05 this year, adding three minutes to the already never-ending day.
Three minutes may seem like a miniscule amount of time but if you calculate the addition of those three minutes to the school day, they total to about nine hours. This means over the course of the lengthy school year each student gets an additional day and a half of education. Everyone wants more time in their draining school day, right?
Another change worth mentioning is the start of the school year. Not only does this change apply to Towson, it is applicable to all schools in Baltimore County. The new starting date for the school year is controversial among students and faculty all over Baltimore County. Some students feel it is unnecessary to start school so late in the year and others like the elongated days of glorious summer.
Sophomore Hope Steger believes starting school after Labor Day was a “horrible idea” and claims it “will cause more absences.” Since summer was extended, spring break will be abbreviated. This year, our long overdue spring break will begin at the conclusion of school on March 29th. Baltimore County School doors reopen April 3rd for a grand total of two days off rather than our usual lengthy spring break.
Many students have mixed emotions about this specific change. According to sophomore Madeline Roberge, it makes sense but is “unnecessarily complicated” and especially causes problems for students that plan on attending the trip to Disney.
Overall Towson retains its hardened “charm” and continues to suck students into the seemingly endless void of stress and daily grind with minimal changes to the day to day life of the students and faculty alike.
