With the recent upgrade of the school lights, opinions surrounding the change have circulated as students adjust to these updated lights.
These upgrades came with a grant the district awarded the school for “routine maintenance”, which is money used to improve existing systems around the school. This is not to be confused with a similar grant that provides money for completely new equipment in the school.
“Things only last so long before they have to be replaced,” said Assistant Principal James Evans. “They’re being upgraded to LED from the regular fluorescent light for energy saving and LED lights, it’s my understanding that they have a longer lifespan per bulb.”
Some students are not happy with the new change, claiming the lights are much too strong and even an unnecessary change.
“I think that the lights are way too bright and in the gym, they’re like blinding and I can’t see anything, we didn’t need all that,” sophomore Mercedes Viniegra said. “Last year I would get headaches all the time because of the lights and now it’s just gonna get worse.”
Other concerns surrounding the lights include the timing of the change as well as the disinvolvement of staff at McNeil.
“I think that like it was very unexpected and they didn’t even tell the teachers so that they could at least say yes or no. I feel like if it’s a whole building thing, why would you do it without asking us? Because we didn’t like it,” junior Vivian Kim said. “And it doesn’t help me focus, I asked my teacher to turn off the lights because I hate them. I think that it was a decision that should have been done in the summer, not in the middle of a year disrupting our learning.”
Despite some negative opinions, some students actually enjoy the new lights, claiming benefits in focus and attentiveness.
“I’m personally a fan of the new lights because they keep me awake,” junior Jakob Compton said. “They keep me awake and they stimulate my brain activity because I can never get tired with how bright these new lights are.”
Despite the feedback, Evans ensures the intent of all improvements around the schools always aim to help learning and create a comfortable learning environment for students. He hopes to especially see the benefits of these new lights in sports, especially in basketball, as the gym now has clearer light for players.
“The light in the gym had that yellow haze to it, now it’s really bright like a clear day. So hopefully, the teams will do a lot better, so no excuses to lose,” Evans said.
Most importantly, Evans expects the lights are “hopefully allowing students to access their learning environment in a better way.”
