VOL. XIII, NO. 11
APRIL 14, 1972

Detentions: Are They Worth It?
By RICK LANGE

It seems as though detentions play a major part in what a student can't do at Maine West today. Any misbehavior in school, leaving school grounds, cutting class, in halls with no pass, running down halls, not having an I-D card, all of these and many other minor offenses will be dealt with by a dean and an immediate detention will be given. All of this was decided by the Board of Education or school board. They in return give these rules to the deans and faculty.

Although many of the students refer to Maine West as some kind of institution or prison, due to all the rules and regulations that are given to the student, the deans and teachers like to think of it as one of the best high schools to attend to get the best education around. Then again they don't realize that the student must spend four years of his life in an institution where he is given no choice in the matter except the subjects he may take.

There are always good reasons to go along with the rules which are given to the students such as this is the given policy which was given to us and it's the only way to maintain a higher standard of education to do this; the student must be disciplined accordingly.
 Mr. Fred Bencriscutto, dean of students, commented that there are three types of students whom he has dealt with. One of the three is those who go along with the rules. They are disciplined enough to realize that it is useless to violate them. Another would be the ones who sometimes do violate the rules and are given detentions for it. The next time they avoid them and go along knowing the circumstances. The third concerns the students who are not happy in school and have problems; these students are the ones who are in the deans' office occasionally. There isn't too much they can do with these students but suspend them from school.

Again we find some teachers at Maine West who either dislike students or some types of students or just want to see that things are run in the right and orderly way. Most students feel that it's enough just putting up with them in class and the teacher's putting up with the students; but when they start on you in the halls, it's a little bit too much to handle. Of course, we all know it's the teachers' responsibility to watch us and to see that we get the most education and the least enjoyment in school.