With one day left in March, everything changed for students’ creative freedom.
As the day went on, students’ profiles randomly changed to their school-issued photo; And at first, students thought it was a glitch. As we now know, it was definitely not a glitch. By the end of the night, all the profile pictures had changed.
Snapchat stories were immediately posted to, friends were texted, and students made complaints to their parents. The word, undeniably, spread extremely quickly. And as quickly as the word was spread, moods were ruined. Students were outraged, even though some would consider this a small event that didn’t actually matter.
The main reason for the profile change wasn’t actually inappropriate pictures, but rather to make emailing students and taking attendance more accessible for teachers. For the start of a school year, or just for a teacher who has never had a certain student before, being able to match a face to a name is very helpful. To many, that fact was surprising, as most would assume the worst.
Some outraged students calmed down and brought themselves to stop caring, but there is definitely an emphasis on the ‘some.’ Many underclassmen are still extremely upset, bringing it up every time they see their profile. Our journalism seniors, on the other hand, couldn’t care less, as in a few weeks their Millard profile will be fully deleted. It’s bittersweet, seeing their profile completely disappear as they move past secondary school and go on to college even though it isn’t the photo they had originally chose.
The administrative office knows of their students’ complaints, but still believes it is more important for teachers to have easy access to students’ emails using profile pictures. They think substitute teachers will appreciate it even if students don’t, and that matters to them. It is also good for our district’s journalism students, as when interviews are needed, you can just peek your head into a classroom and know exactly who you are looking for.
Though some students feel like a piece of them and their customizable abilities are being taken away, the district reassures things like wallpapers will not be taken away anytime soon. Millard is always open to creativeness, but promotes an emphasis on accessibility for everyone, not just students.
