Just last year, Bay Port had an open campus and people were able to leave the school if they didn’t have a class in the middle of the day. We first got an open campus last year because of covid and the block schedule we were on which led to students not having class for hours at a time. 

It was a good move by the school giving the students more freedom during the day. This year the school seems to have changed their mind and we don’t have an open campus. Even though this year we aren’t doing the same block schedule as last year students should still have the freedom of open campus. 

 “I think it was a bad idea to get rid of the open campus,” recent graduate Cadin Marohl said. “I think they should bring back the open campus.”

The main benefits of open campus include students learning more about how they manage their time outside of school, and learning to be more responsible with their time to make sure they don’t miss class. At the same time giving students the freedom to leave school and take a little break from their busy school days. 

“Some of the positives about open campus is that students are able to go and get their own lunch and study wherever they want when they don’t have classes,” Cadin said. “The main thing is that it just feels good to be able to leave and have that freedom in the middle of the school day.”

Even though an open campus would be a good thing for students there would be a few downsides from having an open campus like students skipping out on class and becoming truant.  

“Students could lose track of time and come back to school late or miss a whole class in general from taking a nap at their house,” Cadin said. “I personally know someone who pretty much slept through their classes on a daily basis last year, when we were online and when we went back to open campus.”

Open campus would open up food options as well as best places for students to study. Not everyone can sit in a silent classroom and get things done.

“Some of the positives about open campus is that students are able to go and get their own lunch and study wherever they want when they don’t have classes,” Cadin said. “The main thing is that it just feels good to be able to leave and have that freedom in the middle of the school day.”

The pros of having an open campus outweigh the cons. If a student ends up missing their classes, it teaches them more about time management and being on time to school in the future.