During every passing period, the four double doors of both one hundred wings are jam-packed with students that could easily create a dog pile if someone accidentally trips. Students of Beckman High School push and pull their way through the doors every passing period, just to get to class on time. However, passing the doors is only the first step to getting to class. The students must dodge the incoming seniors, juniors, and sophomores, who, in some cases, are sticking a leg out in front the freshmen who are also struggling through the halls. No one is careful enough to dodge all the obstacles before getting to the “safety zone,” and students always end up colliding into each other. While the bigger of the students involved in the collision continues on to class without even looking back at the little pebble he might have hit, the smaller one must take time to regain consciousness. Then, he must rush to the class to make up for the few seconds lost during the hit.

Has it ever occurred to anyone that very few people take a second to stop and say sorry? Courtesy should be brought back to Beckman High School because it has been ignored for too long.

Although courtesy allows people to feel “warm and fuzzy inside,” is it really necessary in school, where the main goal in is to get to clas? The answer is yes. Courtesy should be present in everyday life-- opening doors for others, helping people carry their books, and sharing. However, that is not the case in most instances; hierarchy distinguishes the older seniors from the freshmen. While the seniors walk down the hallways, it’s the freshmen that have to go around them.

One could argue that there is no time for courtesy during the short, five-minute passing period. For every stop the students make, it causes them to arrive to their classrooms additional minutes late. However, there are only 12 years of school life, which calculate to about 3240 days, or 194400 hours, or 11664000 seconds. It would not be hurtful to use one third of the years to help others. Out of the entire school population, few show individuality amongst the thousands of students by showing courtesy to others. These students are not courteous out of pity for the small student that they just pushed back a mile, but for the purpose of displaying the respect that everyone deserves.