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First Person
A survey of area high schools' lockers
Date published: 11/20/2008
IT ALL BEGINS with cub- bies in elementary school. Somewhere along the line, it shifts to desk drawers. Finally, the progression of school storage-utilities ends with lockers, which serve the basic function of allowing middle and high school students to free up their overwhelming backpacks and armloads at various points during the day.
Lockers at area schools vary in color, size, height, width, compartments and locks. But while their appearances may be different, all serve their necessary purpose--from books to jackets to sports equipment, lockers store it all.
STAFFORD
Students at Stafford High School keep their lockers for all four years. The lockers are grouped by grade, contributing to designated areas where upperclassmen and underclassmen congregate separately.
The lockers are all painted the same shade of blue. About the length and width of a textbook laid flat, they are still high enough to fit all sorts of random things like crutches or umbrellas. Inside, a small latch opens a rectangular compartment above, ideal for more textbooks or lunch bags.
"The lockers look thin, but there is really a lot of space," said Stafford junior Patrick Clark.
Aside from the limiting dimensions, the greatest difficulty with Stafford's lockers can be getting them open.
"Mine never seems to work. I have to hit it. I've got this whole procedure I've figured out," said junior Tyler Limbrick. "Although it jams, it makes life more interesting."
Sophomore James Adams explained that he has the same problem: "The unlocking of my locker is very unpredictable," he said. "Sometimes I can get it on the first try. Most times I can open it on the second try. But then there are times when it can take three to four times. Then I start to get really annoyed and embarrassed."
--Nina Gonzalez
JAMES MONROE
The 3-year-old James Monroe High School building boasts a truly unique locker design.
Rather than setting lockers inside the walls of the hallway, James Monroe clusters lockers into designated locker bays for each grade.
Each locker is about seven 800-page textbooks wide (if the textbooks are stood up cover to cover across the base).
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"Well, I have this mini soccer ball in it, and every time I put books in it now, it, like, makes them fall to one side or another because I keep forgetting it's there."
--Nathan Bilodeau, junior, Fredericksburg Academy
"Probably my field hockey stick. I've perfected the technique of fitting it in exactly right, especially when I'm crunched for time in the mornings before class."
--Ellie Carey, sophomore, James Monroe High School
"Well, my friend wanted to see how far she could fit in our sports lockers, so she used mine to see how tiny she was compared to the locker, and she fit."
--Kelsey Purcell, junior, Massaponax High School
"I would have to say the weirdest thing I put in my locker was my dog's leash. I brought it with me to school."
--Alexa McClennen, junior, Stafford High School
"Fairy wings. They're still in my locker right now."
--Michelle Mancari, junior, Stafford
"One time, I had to fit one of those foldable chairs."
--Caitlin Hitt, junior, Stafford
"A Soviet military uniform for a school project."
--Basil Fedun, senior, Stafford
"One year, on my birthday, I was given a very interesting set of presents that ended up going into my locker. They included a stuffed turtle with toddler underwear on its head, a towel and a plastic, pink-spotted hat."
--Dylan Vasey, junior, James Monroe
"One time we had a lock-in at school and we played hide-and-seek, so, conveniently enough, I got in my locker!"
--Sarah Tooker, junior, Mountain View High School
"A Barbie--it had extensions to look like Rapunzel."
--Jackie LeDoux, sophomore, Stafford
"Styrofoam project. When I tried to take it out, it broke and bits of Styrofoam went everywhere."
--Isti Hasan, senior, Stafford
--Compiled by Nina Gonzalez |
WHAT'S THE MOST INTERESTING THING YOU'VE HAD TO FIT INTO YOUR LOCKER? |
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Date published: 11/20/2008
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