Previously, walking into Oshkosh North was a simple, straight walk to Door 7. Now, because of the new main entrance, students who enter the building after 8:10 a.m. must walk through the hills surrounding the front of the school.
Over the Summer, the school constructed more of a secure main entrance at Door 1, meaning Door 7 is now only available before school and during lunch.
While the one-door Policy is not new. The new main entrance allows for there to be more security for the school, which is the whole point of the policy.
“All students, guests, and parents need to enter through Door 1,” Assistant Principal Robin Speidel said. “Everyone needs to show their ID as part of safety protocol. ”
Previously, Door 7 had a door monitor and was locked for security, leaving the question of why North moved the location.
“If someone were to come in through Door 7, and they had bad intentions, they could go through the auditorium, they could continue going straight and walk through those double doors and into the science hallway, or they could even go right upstairs. There’s full access to the entire building, just from walking through Door 7,” Spiedel said.
Some of the student body still park in the West lot and would prefer to use Door 7 throughout the school day if they have an appointment, arrive late, or have an open hour.
“I think it’s inconvenient to have to go to Door 1 instead of Door 7,” senior Isabella Lammey said. “I feel like the majority of people park by Door 7, so having to walk around if you come late, or for whatever reason, is annoying.”
In addition to having to leave for appointments, some students don’t even come to school for 1st hour.
“I have an open hour first and second,” senior Maya Walker said, “so I have to go through [Door 1] every day which means I can’t park in the Door 7 parking lot, or I’ll have to walk around the school. I also have to get buzzed into both doors which can take a long time sometimes and has almost made me late because I didn’t anticipate how long it’ll take to get through those doors.”
Students are aware of the reasoning behind the new entrance but still feel as though it has burdened them.
Senior Julia Bock said, “I know the security is important, and I’m grateful for that, but I know people who have been roughly 30 seconds late and had to go around to the other door, wait in line to sign in, and it made them way later than they would’ve been.”
Students are still allowed to enter through Door 7 during certain times, however. Students can leave through Door 7 at any point in the day, but they are only allowed to enter before the bell rings in the morning and during lunch until the bell rings.
“It’s funny actually because even some of [the staff] at Oshkosh North going over to Oshkosh West last year weren’t allowed in the building unless they worked there or had a viable reason for being there,” Spiedel said.
In addition to having only one entrance, having people—students, staff, and visitors—sign in allows the school to know who is in the building at all times.
Spiedel said, “If we had a fire, some type of weather event, or something worse, we should know who’s all in the building and who’s not.”
Although this change may feel cumbersome to students, ultimately the new secure entrance will improve students’ safety and make attending North more secure.
