With the start of the 2022-2023 school year, many new additions have been made to the benefit of students and faculty;  however, E-Hall Pass has been the most talked about topic circulating the halls of Millard West.  In order to counteract last year’s vandalism incidents inspired by viral TikTok posts, E-Hall Pass was administered in order to prevent these situations from happening in the future.

E-Hall Pass is a browser-based online system that is used to manage all pass situations. Whether it’s to meet with a teacher or to go to the bathroom, students must create an online pass in order to leave their classroom.  Despite the amount of patience and effort this new system requires, E-Hall Pass is a very effective network that our school desperately needs. 

Thanks to the advanced technology that E-Hall Pass provides, security guards are able to view the back end of the system. Through the website on their specialized tablets, security is able to detect which students have authorization to be outside of their classroom and the location they should be at. This new addition lifts an extra weight off their shoulders because they don’t have to worry about students congregating in bathrooms or skipping class. The system can also notify officials if a student is asking to leave class with unusual frequency, which might have gone unnoticed in settings where students have different class periods with different teachers throughout the day.

Another benefit that follows after E-Hall Pass is the improved safety of students in school. For instance, a school official can change settings in the electronic hall pass system to prevent certain students from getting a pass at the same time. Students also have the ability to request students they do not feel comfortable being in the halls with at the same time. This accommodation is an advancement that our school has been in need of for years because not only does this prevent bullying, but also prevents fights from breaking out during the school day.  

An additional feature that the E-Hall Pass system provides, is that administrators can set limitations on the number of students creating passes at any given time. When the maximum number is reached, no more students are allowed out until someone returns to class. This allows for a decrease in students congregating, while also allowing them to return back to their classroom on time. 

Last year, students had previously struggled with tardiness and their ability to be on time. Luckily, the E-Hall Pass network can be set to trigger a reminder on a student’s laptop when they have, say, a counseling session, and automatically generate the needed hall pass. This improvement is very beneficial for students because it reminds them to attend needed care.

Despite the countless benefits that follow the implementation of electronic hall pass systems, students across the country have created change.org petitions in order to revoke their usage, stating that they are complicated and useless to students. However, if only these students would look outside of their perspective and realize how this change makes the jobs of administrators and faculty far easier would they realize how beneficial this new system actually is. 

While many students may find this feature aggravating and a violation of their privacy, it helps prevent incidents of vandalism and congregation, while also improving student safety. Although it will take time for both students and faculty members to adapt to this new change,  E-hallpass has already proven to be a tremendously helpful addition to our school.