High schools are a hotbed for bacteria. With hundreds of students, teachers, and staff entering the school every- day, it is easy for sicknesses to spread if precautions are not taken. While it is costly and may take some time, students would be less prone to illnesses if there were hand sanitizer stations located throughout the school.

Nobody likes to be sick. While this may be an obvious statement, it is especially true for stressed high school students. If you’ve ever missed a day of school, you can relate to the stress of having to get better while worrying about making up tests or other classwork. However, it is very hard to prevent sickness when there are so many different people entering and leaving classrooms all day.

Of course, there are some basic precautions one can take to better protect themselves, such as washing your hands
throughout the school day. But with busy schedules and little time in-between classes, it is difficult for student  to run to the bathroom every period. Besides, if that were the case there would be a new problem because the bathrooms would be overcrowded. Thus, the best solution to decrease the possibility of getting sick is implementing hand sanitizer stations throughout the school.

During the winter months especially, germs seem to be moving around the school like wildfire. Every doorknob, desk, or chair you touch has possibly been touched by a sick person as well. And any Schreiber student can see how it seems that once one person gets sick, the whole school does.

Hand sanitizer stations would make staying healthy fast and easy. With at least one hand sanitizer station in every hallway, students and teachers could easily pump some on their hands and move on with their day. Since germs are most often spread by coughing and sneezing, putting a sanitizer station in each class would allow students to disinfect themselves without leaving or disturbing class. Moreover, since many different students and teachers use classes all day, there would be less of a chance for students to pick up germs later in the day.

Some may argue that hand sanitizer stations are not needed and are a waste of the school’s money. However, while these stations are costly, they are ultimately the best way to protect students and teachers from sickness. Everybody always says “just wash your hands,” or “cough inside your arm” as guidelines for how not to spread germs. Although these methods are definitely important, are they really enough?

Taking a sick day is a huge burden for students, parents, and teachers these days. In fact, many believe that it’s easier to go to school sick than deal with all of the makeup work, which only exacerbates the problem at hand. As for teachers, missing class sets back their teaching schedule. This may not seem like a huge deal right now, but it can make a huge difference when preparing for finals and Regents in June. Thus, the best way to prevent sickness and stress is to install hand sanitizer stations around Schreiber’s campus.