The passes really aren’t that bad.
The e-hallpasses have caused a lot of commotion within the Neshaminy High School student body, and students have mixed opinions; some students claim the passes’ earth shatteringly flip their world upside down, while others are not so dramatic.
Those opposed to the new electronic passes complain about them elongating the process to get to the bathroom, claiming that the pass is another disruption to class (yet they spend more time complaining about the passes than it takes to fill one out). This raises the question: How inconvenient are the passes in reality?
Wouldn’t raising one’s hand and asking to go to the bathroom, in general, be a disruption to class? Writing out a paper pass takes the same amount of time as filling out an e-hallpass, so what is it that makes these passes so bad?
Adapting to new methods is, for sure, confusing, frustrating, and seemingly difficult at first, but perhaps not as much as students believe it to be.
Richard Greenberg, a Social Studies teacher at NHS, has been vocal in his support of the new pass system.
“. . . many people can be reluctant to do anything “new” after they have a set procedure,” Greenberg explained.

Greenberg believes that the e-hallpasses are more convenient than the traditional paper sign-out sheets but acknowledges student concerns about being tracked.
“The e-hallpass adds a level of school security,” Greenberg said. “Should there be a problem of violence or vandalism… administration has an easier time trying to identify who was out of class at any given time and where students were located.”
From a teacher’s perspective, Greenberg believes that the deeper issue within the student body is not the passes themselves but the new systems being imposed.
“Some students may feel embarrassed to ask, but I think it is more about the awkwardness of the new system that they feel embarrassed about,” Greenberg also stated. “I see no difference of a student raising their hand to ask, ‘can I go to _____.’”
Other students have also expressed discomfort with e-hallpass’ seemingly constant monitoring of their location, but an anonymous NHS student disagrees,
“It only flags you if it’s consistent… I used to be one of those people [who would say], ‘what if I got my period?’ but it’s not going to flag you, it will only flag you if it’s a consistent absence. . . from class,” the anonymous student shared.
The e-hallpasses are not meant to be a “gotcha” moment. Teachers are able to go back and change the amount of time a student has been out if they did not close the pass out on time.
The anonymous student also brings a different positive light on the e-hallpasses,
“I’ve heard students say… it’s going to affect everybody, or ask, ‘why do all of the good kids have to get taken down for the bad kids?’” The anonymous student said. “That’s not necessarily the case. It’ll help lots of students, especially those who may fly under the radar [with] undetected ADHD, or [students who] might be anxious and skipping classes because of it, so it helps staff know how to assist students like that.”
In the end, the e-hallpasses are just another necessary technological advancement as most schools turn to virtual learning and attempt to implement new useful technologies into their districts. Anything new is difficult at first, but as the year goes on, students are bound to adapt to the new system as they have had to do with the other new changes this year, as we are already seeing the acceptance of this new system take place.