“This is a social contract and some students are breaking the contract”-Assistant principal Sigler
By: Ollie Gerber
Scents and sensitivity within the student and faculty population became a focus of theschool community this fall. With a rash of health reactions to perfumes being sprayed in classrooms, hallways and bathrooms, several people have experienced allergic reactions since school started in August. New rules and policy changes have been put in place to better protect all of the school community.
Many believe the issues with scents are a community concern. There have been many health concerns due to the perfume usage in school creating issues for many people with breathing illnesses such as asthma and allergies.Laura Sigler, assistant princpal at MHS explained,” If we were talking about food allergies, we would say, “of course I won’t make you eat something that can kill you.” If students brought something to share with classmates, and their friend asked “is there milk in this? I’m extremely allergic to milk,” we would all expect the friend to be honest about the ingredients.”
MHS sophomore Bailey Tarwacki said, “ It [ spraying perfume] could hurt someone that has asthma or that is just allergic to certain scents.” Taylor Denson, sophomore at MHS, said, “Yes, it absolutely is...I did end up in the hospital due to people spraying a little perfume that I am allergic to.”
MHS French teacher Bryce Williamson added, “ I know some people personally, who have very serious reactions to perfume. And so to me, that’s very serious.”
“When I was teaching at Adams High School I would have air fresheners... and a student had an allergy to it and so I removed them. ” said Randy Ebright, MHS English teacher. Sophomore Morgan Smith suggested, “ it can become overwhelming, especially if sprayed in someone's face or like in a really crowded hallway... we do have a teacher in this building that is severely sensitive and allergic to these kinds of things, so spraying it at home... is probably the best thing.”
In order to protect those in the building with illnesses and scent allergies the administration has made changes to policies. According to Associate Principal Jessica Mann they have decided to switch to an unscented hand soap for the school. There are also signs posted in hallways, bathrooms and classrooms as constant reminders of the life threatening danger for some at MHS.
However, Sigler said the scent usage is more about community and courtesy for others, “As a community, we rely on the ethics and morals of the people around us to keep us safe. This is called the social contract, and right now some students are breaking that contract when they knowingly jeopardize those people around them by continuing to spray things they know others are allergic to.” Sigler stated that students need to see outside of themselves and consider other people’s viewpoints. “Some people in our school community are teacher in this building that is severely sensitive and allergic tothese kinds of things, so spraying it at home... is probably the best thing.”
In order to protect those in the building with illnesses and scent allergies the
administration has made changes to policies. According to Associate Principal Jessica Mann they have decided to switch to an unscented hand soap for the school. There are also signs posted in hallways, bathrooms and classrooms as constant reminders of the life threatening danger for some at MHS. However, Sigler said the scent usage is more about community and courtesy for others, “ As a community, we rely on the ethics and morals of the people around us to keep us safe. This is called the social contract, and right now some students are breaking that contract when they knowingly jeopardize those people around them by continuing to spray things they know others are
surprised about scent allergies, they seem to be having a hard time understanding how
dangerous certain scents are for those with allergies.“ Sigler continued, “Their confusion or misunderstanding--and in some cases anger about being asked not to do something that is actually deadly for others--is especially dangerous because the person with the allergy has no control over the situation. The person with the allergy or asthma is completely dependent on others to not put him or her in jeopardy.”
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