Midlothian High School - Trojan Yearbook (Midlothian, VA)

Page 22 text:

EVACUATING THE BUILDING, students wonder if this was a planned fire drill or whether the workmen had fouled up the elec- trical system again? TOLERATING THE DAILY TRAFFIC JAM, students line their cars up in hopes of being one of the first out after the buses. CHANGING CLASSES, thesesen- BEGINNING EXCAVATION IN iors “brave the cold,” one of the MARCH, these workmen work on problemsstudentsfacedconcern- the foundation of the west wing ing the use of trailers as class- addition, hoping to finish before rooms. August of '86. 18 Student Life

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INTERVIEWING A FOREIGN “FAMALE”’ BASKETBALL PLAYER, Jon DeNunzio asks the translater how she likes Ameri- can basketball. TOM McCORMACK THE KEY- BOARDIST OF C.A.S. plays a ro- mantic song by Journey that he dedicated to his girlfriend at the time. DDLING ALONG WITH THEIR ATHER, Mr. Wallace, Connie, and Laura Wallace played a foot- stomping song during the talent show. Student Life 17

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Just when we thought we had it all tigured out... “Men are working in the building. If the fire alarm goes off, please disregard it.’’ There were so many false alarms that it became a joke among stu- dents and teachers. What if there was a real fire? Who woul d actually believe the alarm was functioning correct- ly? The frequency of false alarms was symptomatic of the building problems which, after a year, still remained. Another problem, a ‘'so- called” safety feature, existed as a result of the false alarm. The corridor doors automati- cally closed and locked follow- ing the fire alarm. Designed to prevent the spread ot fire, the doors became a nuisance, forc- ing students to manually open the heavy, noisy doors for the rest of the day after the mal- functioning alarm. Another electronic problem concerned the heating and cooling of the building. Many teachers complained of exces- sive heat with temperatures in the 90's in their rooms, while others had no heat at all and watched blue-lipped students shiver through the hour's in- struction. All the complaints were of no avail as these condi- tions persisted all year. At one point, however, Ms. Cortopassi received relief when techni- cians discovered a burnt-out computer chip at fault for the absence of circulating air and heat. The problems associated with room temperature and cir- culation caused students and teachers alike to suffer from year-long colds and head- aches. Midlothian’s student body grew, causing a definite over- crowding. One well known and not easily avoided traffic jam area was located between the library and English hall. Sometimes students took their frustrations out by shoving fel- low students out of the way. This excess of of students meant more classroom space was needed. For temporary re- lief, trailers were used to han- dle health, history, and govern- ment classes. Although the heating and cooling systems functioned adequately there, students complained of ‘facing the weather’’ when walking to and trom the trailers. With the spring came the construction crew as work be- gan on the addition on the western side of the sch ool. By early March, excavation be- gan. Construction, trailers, and heaps of building materials lit- tered the teacher's parking lot. One traffic problem was par- tially corrected. After dealing with the students complaints and the horn blowing while waiting to leave school, the county administrators re- opened LeGordon Road. Then students only complained about the rule regarding the buses and leaving school. Once the buses cleared the bus loop, students were permit- ted to leave, having little time to wait with both roads being opened. Although many of these mal- functions will be corrected with time, others will surely come to take their places. But one must remember, with a school the size of Midlothian, it’s a wonder that these are the only quirks with which Midlo is faced. Student Life 19