This year, West Covina High School welcomed back students and staff along with many new rules and regulations. On Aug. 19, the second day of school, the administration team held grade level assemblies to establish student expectations; as a result there has been much debate and controversy surrounding these policies. 

Among students and staff, the Minga app, no food drop off, and dress code have all been important issues and many have been voicing their opinions.

The Minga App

Minga is a platform that helps ensure safety outside the classroom. The app is something many aren’t comfortable with using as it includes features such as your identification, a tracker, and timer. It creates a different environment for both students and staff, resulting in a stir of opinions. 

“I think it is weird because there’s a timer on how long we’ve been gone from class and is a bit invasive to our personal being,” said Junior Kassidy Ly. 

“It is helpful when students need to be called to the office for something or going home early. It helps keep track of where they are.” said Senior Felisha Muñiz. 

While it may create a sense of security for some, others admit to feelings of inconvenience. 

“My biggest concern at the moment is how much time it’s taking to get used to –  being a teacher and then I have to pause what I’m doing in order to set up a pass for a student,” said English teacher Tonatzin Rodriguez. 

“I’m hoping and trying to be positive about it, but it’s going to take time for me to develop my own system so that it’s smooth and effective during class time,” continued Rodriguez.

No More Food Drop-Off 

In previous years, there was a trend of students ordering food from nearby restaurants. This gave students a variety of options and a chance to order from their favorite restaurants. However, this year the administration has removed access to Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Postmates due to safety and a high volume of traffic that created chaos as stated by Assistant Principal Rene Vela.

“The reason why we’re doing the no food deliveries for students are two big reasons. One being school safety, they hand us a bag of food we don’t know what’s in it. Is it a hamburger? Is it Chick-Fil-A? Is it something else? We can’t open every bag to check that everything that goes into our school is safe,” said Vela. 

“The second reason, there could be up to 100 food deliveries in less than 30 minutes. That’s 100 different people coming to try to grab their food. That takes time, organization, personnel, and we want to use our office staff for other school things,” Vela continued.

There is a common opinion amongst students of dissatisfaction with the restriction of food drop-off during the school day.  

“Us no longer being able to order food is honestly a big thing they took from us on top of the dress code and hall passes. Sometimes they run out of food and students aren’t able to eat so they order from nearby restaurants,” said Senior Leilah Enriquez.

On average the cafeteria gives out about 1,600-1,700 meals per day, with breakfast being 750-800 meals a day and 800-900 lunches a day, stated by WCHS’ cafeteria lead. Cheeseburgers and chicken sandwiches are served on a daily basis, leaving students to feel tired of not having enough variety.

“Why is it a problem this year and not the other years? They said no food in the office when in reality students would wait for their parents or the delivery drivers out of school. The school wouldn’t even have to deal with it,” said Senior Luis Fuentes.

Dress Code 

According to Vela, administration does not want students to come to school and be distracted or not dressed appropriately. 

As a result of this statement, many students have expressed their thoughts on the new dress code policies and procedures. There has been much controversy due to students feeling that it’s only being one-sided, focusing it more on young girls.  

“These rules need to stop sexualizing underaged girls and let us express ourselves in clothing that makes us feel good. School’s supposed to prepare us for the real world, but where do you see any signs stopping girls from showing their stomachs or wearing shorter shorts?” said Senior Trinity Lorea.

“I think it’s affecting our girls more. There’s a limit for instance, if a girl is wearing something completely inappropriate such as something that is worn on a beach, then that’s a bit extreme. I don’t personally mind some belly showing because it’s something that’s normal,” said English teacher Lyndie Lorenger.

“With the dress code, it’s another thing that I have to worry about on top of a full-day of work,” Lorenger continued.

Dress code has always been a controversial topic. Students wonder, how much stricter can the dress code get? 

“With the school hours changing, the new hall passes, new dress code rules and us students no longer being able to order food to the school I feel like there are too many changes being made for us students at once. Since I’ve been at WCHS I’ve always felt free and now with all these new restrictions we students feel suffocated.” said Senior Bliss Aguilar. 

“I don’t see any problem with people expressing themselves. As long as people are mature about the situation,” said Senior Andrew Vasquez.

Administration’s Overall Thoughts

In an interview with Vela, he goes into more detail regarding all new policies.

“The Minga App is totally optional. It is designed to create a safer, more engaged, more connected community,” he said.

Vela also states that teachers have the choice of using the app as a tool in the classroom or they have the choice of not using the app at all. 

When asked if there was going to be a way for the school community to express these concerns, Vela stated that “What we’re going to do is provide additional support for our teachers and all of our students. Either training with the Minga App, clarification with the Minga App. We’re going to get parents involved as well. So hopefully Minga becomes something that makes life easier and not more difficult.” 

“As far as the policies for food deliveries and dress codes, that is again something to keep your school safe,” he continued.

“When it comes to the dress codes we are still trying to figure out where that line is and what is and is not appropriate because we would have to dress code about one thousand students daily. We just don’t want people to feel that they can come to school and not dress appropriately. We don’t want there to be a distraction. We want people to look and feel respected, supported, and good about themselves,” said Vela. 

In a final statement, Vela wants students and staff members to remember that “there is always an open door for Dr. Park, myself, and the other assistant principals. We want to make sure that we’re running this school where everyone feels safe and welcome and supported. So the conversation does not end. There is always, always room for improvement. So we welcome feedback, we welcome opinions, good and bad, so we can figure out what we need to do to run a better school.”