Are lockers a relic of the past?

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

by Addison Maley 

Editor-in-Chief

Lockers stand undecorated, unopened and desolate in Bradley’s upstairs A-hallway. Photo by: Addison Maley (12). 

The quintessential slamming of locker doors in high school hallways has withered away with time, both due to Covid-19 and the transition away from paper textbooks. Though uncommon to see in use, lockers have been assigned to every student and are permitted for student use. 

The Bradley website’s announcements page shared information on Jan. 30 about locker assignments, listing main office secretary Mrs. Laura Kaufman as the point of contact. If a student was not assigned a locker at the start of the school year or if they would prefer to have their locker location changed, she can make adjustments.

Kaufman shares that the announcement was prompted by students occasionally asking for a locker, as many did not know they had already been assigned or that they were available to use. 

“We didn’t have lockers for students, since Covid really, unless randomly if they wanted one. Now, I assign them at the beginning of the school year. [Since Covid], there hasn’t been a lot of use of them... but even before that, people didn’t use their lockers very often.”

The limits on locker use starting in 2020 had a lasting impact on students. Noha Abu (12) says “since we weren’t allowed to use them in the first three years of high school, I see no point in using it now when I have so few classes.” Her friend MJ Snyder (12) agrees, “I’m just used to not using one.” 

Now that classwork and textbooks have almost completely transitioned online, many students have never felt a need to use a locker. Snacks, makeup, and other commodities that students don’t want to be separated from take up more space in the average bag than course materials that can easily be left behind. 

Senior Reem Kadimi-Skali shares “I have less than three hours of classes… it doesn’t make sense to be away from my backpack full of everything I could possibly need in any situation to just carry it all in my arms instead.”

School Resource Officer Lupi adds that from a security standpoint, this preference sometimes makes his job harder. “It’s easier to check a stationary place than to find someone who’s carrying a bag that goes everywhere with them.” 

Kaufman adds “I don’t think there’s going to be much of a comeback. There might be, especially if they see the announcements - they might realize ‘oh, I have a locker!’ but I don’t know for sure.” 

Students can visit the “Registration” tab on HomeAccess to see their locker location and combination, and visit Mrs. Kaufman in the main office with any questions.