GNA CAMPUS – High Schoolers from all over the globe value three very important things, whether they acknowledge it or not. Their comfort, identity, and – their cellphones. But coming into the 2023-2024 school year, there are a few new rules that they feel conflict with these things greatly.

Students in the Greater Nanticoke Area (and even some surrounding schools) are no longer allowed to wear anything with a hood. They are no longer allowed to have their phones out, and they are required to wear ID badges on lanyards around their neck at all times. These rules are fresh out of the oven, and the student body is constantly expressing how hard it is to adjust.

“I don’t see how the ID badges truly help. To be frank, kids could easily wear fake ones, no one is checking them.” Says Mackenzie Stratton, a senior. “I understand the hoodies, and Nanticoke isn’t the first school to implement this policy. Kids took advantage of it last year and ruined it for the rest of us this year who just wanted to be comfortable.”

A few other students agreed, confiding in me with similar opinions.

“I understand the no phones, but the no hoodies irks me.” Says Jordyn Vida, a junior at GNA. “A lot of kids wear them because it’s comfortable, or it’s all they have.”

This is a big point I’ve heard being made by students when talking about these rules. A lot of them claim that crewnecks are expensive, and a lot of students may only have jackets or sweaters with hoods.

“I just wish the school would provide us with free crewnecks or sweaters. I’ve heard that they’re going to start making some and selling them for, like, $25. I don’t know how true that is, but I think that’s too much. Nanticoke is a lower-income town. I see kids walking to and from school all the time with no jacket or hoodie or anything like that,” an anonymous student confided in me. “You’d think the school would’ve taken the summer to go over some extra options with those kids in mind.”

Other kids expressed excitement about these new rules.

“I think these [rules] should have been implemented years ago,” said an anonymous student. “I feel especially safer with the no phones rule since they’ve been used to cyberbully some of my peers in the past. I just wish something like this could have been done sooner.”

As you can tell, the student body is extremely divided when it comes to the opinions on these new rules.  These rules are very much uncharted territory for this year’s high schoolers, and with it being the beginning of the school year, it can be stressful. Getting used to not checking your phone can be overwhelming, as well as a lot of students are feeling as though they aren’t being accommodated with the new hoodie rule. With that in mind, I’ve decided to include a list of resources down below, to showcase some places students may be able to find cheap crewnecks for the cold NEPA weather.

• Goodwill Industries – A thrift store chain that values cheap prices for secondhand items.
• The Salvation Army – A thrift store chain and international charitable organization.
• Amazon – A big warehouse chain that retails from independent sellers, prices may vary.
• Etsy – A global online marketplace made up of independent sellers and small businesses, prices may vary.