Backpacks have always been prohibited at Heritage, until this year, which will be a test to see how backpacks help or hinder the school environment.

Some male students have had conflict with the backpack policy in the past.

“On the first day of school, a teacher told me to put my backpack outside and someone stole it,” sophmore John Payne said.

“I had my backpack and my teacher said to put it up,” junior Kolin Simmons said. “I said no I need it and she sent me to the office.”

Certain students, like freshman Jade Marcum think the old policy wasn’t inclusive of both guys and girls.

“The rules should be fair to both genders,” Marcum said. “They should apply all rules for both genders. Usually they see guys more as a threat, but that’s not always the case.”

The backpack policy changed for the greater this year because Heritage wanted to put the energy into something that will keep the students safer.

However, different grade levels have different perspectives on the backpack policies. For instance, some might think the backpack rule is justified.

“I think it’s fair that we can carry backpacks,” senior Asia Martin said. “I keep makeup, feminine necessities, pencils, pens, my phone, and a hairbrush in my purse.”

Although some male students have had conflict with the backpack rule others have accepted the backpack policy.

“I actually like it because people don’t have to stop at their locker,” freshman Noah Hanson said. “If someone had a class at one end of the school and another class at the other end, they can just take their backpack. They don’t need to stop at locker. It’s more convenient.”

The females like junior Makaila Frank have a completely different point of view on the policy. Some would say females got the long end of the straw since they have purses.

“I carry a huge purse because they give us so much stuff,” junior Makaila said. “People have so many books and they have to bring them to class.”

The lockers play a big role in all of this because the location of the locker seems to be a main concern to students.

“I understand because everyone has a lot of different classes,” Marcum said. “Maybe if we have majority of classes [near our locker] it would just be easier for people.”

The teachers have their own opinion about this as well.

“I personally don’t have a problem with the backpacks, when we aren’t overcrowded,” Entrepreneurship and Fashion Marketing teacher, Jacqueline Hollowell said. “I think they’ll be fine for right now as long as the students keep them put away.”