Interviews with Students About Oakton

Lizzie Thompson, staff writer

Oakton has been going through major renovations lately. With the construction everywhere, it’s hard to remember how the school used to be. Before, there were ceilings and walls, and a whole other section of the school that doesn’t seem to exist anymore. With all that there is to complain about, I asked the students of Oakton High School what their least favorite things about the school were.

Not surprisingly, the first thing most people complained about that was the ceilings, or lack thereof. There are no ceilings in the hallways of Oakton. With wires dangling and caution tape dripping from the walls, it’s easy to see why this isn’t a pleasant sight to most students. Lindsey Smith (9)said “the ceilings are super weird when you think about it, like everyday I have to look up to make sure I’m not walking under a dripping pipe. But it’s normal now. It’s not like live wires are smacking me in the face or anything, so it’s fine I guess.” The bare ceilings at Oakton have become part of the culture, and though it comes off as strange, it’s what Oakton is.

As expected, there were also complaints about the trailers. People have said that the fact that we have a whole town of trailers instead of classrooms is annoying. Trailers are the substitute for classrooms that are missing in the main building. We have had these trailers since before construction, and we will probably have them after. So unfortunately, this is one of the complaints that aren’t going anywhere. Other than just the whole idea of trailers, many went in depth of things inside the trailers themselves. Sophie Draeger (9) said “it gets so hot when it’s like four degrees outside. Or it’ll be like the arctic in the middle of the summer.” I think that these extreme temperatures are something that all Oakton students can relate to, but temperature control in the trailers are mostly up to the teacher, so if you talk to them then this shouldn’t be an issue anymore.

The last complaint that was brought up often was the library’s system. I also think that the library has some policies that should change. What many said was how the library is hardly open or their are so many people that want to go, with not enough slots to sign up, that they never go. The library isn’t even open before and sometimes after school, which is when students need it most. For studying, or just finding books to read. Emily Gahram, 10th grader, said

“ Their have been so many times where I thought that I should get my work done in a quiet place before school, and the library telling me that their not open, or their full” their are lots of complaints about the printer pricing also. It doesn’t sit well with students knowing that if they need to print something out for school, that they will have to open their wallets first.

Though some of these complaints could stand their ground, most of them have simple solutions or aren’t even issues at all. So even with the construction, there isn’t much to complain about.