Since the beginning of second semester, students at our school are adjusting to a new system that was brought to our school. Instead of going up to their teachers desk and asking for a paper bathroom pass, students must now request for a digital pass through the Minga app. The system is on students school issued Chromebooks, which requires their teachers approval before the student can leave the room.
To use the new system, students sign into Minga and select what type of pass they need, such as a bathroom or hall pass to another class to turn in late work, etc. The teacher will then get a notification and is able to either approve or deny the request. Once the request is approved, the student is allowed to leave, and the app has a 5 minute timer that tracks how long they are out of class for. Alexandra Chavez Aguilar, a sophomore, wants to share her thoughts, “I just think it’s more time consuming than the paper passes for the reason that they make us use our chromebooks,” Aquilar says, “and request for it ourselves and then wait for it to get accepted.” School administrators claim the goal is to improve accountability, reduce unnecessary time spent outside of class, and make it more flexible and easy for teachers.
This switch to Minga marks the end of traditional paper passes, which were previously used for many years. Administrators claim that this new system makes a more efficient and arranged process for everyone. Because Minga keeps track of when a student leaves and returns, security guards are able to see who is out of class at any time. Before second semester started, Minga was used only for registering for Falcon Support and Falcon Flight, but now they expanded it to bathroom and hall passes.
There have been mixed feelings and reactions from our fellow students about the change. Some students say the app is convenient and easier to use compared to the old paper passes. Others feel as if the process slows things down, especially if a teacher is busy and doesn’t see the request right away. Vanessa Ramirez, a senior, wants to share her opinion, “Yes, I do think we should go back to the paper passes, it was more useful and just easier,” Ramirez exclaims, “Because now students have to request for a bathroom pass and wait for their teachers approval when they could’ve just directly asked their teacher.” Some students have also expressed how they think their movements are being closely monitored throughout the school day.
As our school moves forward using Minga for bathroom and hall passes, students and teachers are still getting used to this new change. While the systems purpose is to increase organization, safety, and accountability it has also started conversations about how convenient it is, as well as the amount of privacy we’re getting. Paper passes are now in the past.
