For the past three years, anyone and everyone connected to RBHS has force fed students the school’s motto of “Freedom with Responsibility,” or more appropriately “Freedom with Irresponsibility.” Gagging on its hypocrisy, students went from class to class confused about the seemingly contradictory maxim of secondary education. Too many times in the past teachers used the saying to turn a blind eye to students’ blatant disrespect for the rules.

For years it seemed the first part of the motto, freedom, was easy to adhere to. It roughly translated as “Do whatever you want; just don’t get caught.” Now, however, faculty and staff have taken significant steps to redefine what freedom really means for the student body. Clear expectations have replaced the administration’s once permissive attitude, in turn fostering a positive culture of accountability and respect.

By the time students are freshmen, many are skilled masters at manipulating the rules and pushing boundaries as far as they can without serious repercussions. The further adolescents progress in their high school careers, the more prolific they become at walking the line between freedom and irresponsibility. Without enforced consequences they have no reason to rethink their actions, which can create habits of disrespectful behavior carrying through to future career performance.

In light of the administration’s recent measures to create a safer and more education-centric school environment, such as restricting where students can eat lunch and monitoring students leaving early from class, the motto’s original translation no longer holds true. Since the purpose of “Freedom with Responsibility” is to ensure we have the skills to be successful later in life, allowing us to run wild with minimal culpability does a severe disservice.

As an educational institution, it is the duty of RBHS faculty and administrators to enforce appropriate consequences when students abuse the allowance of freedom that accompanies the mandate of responsibility, a charge the school’s leaders have readily accepted and are willing to protect. Too often in the past “Don’t get arrested while on campus and don’t fail any classes,” and “Turn in your work and keep your texting hidden from me in class,” were the thinly veiled messages students received.

These higher expectations no longer enable teachers to allow students to be disengaged and on their devices in class. Steps such as this let the administration begin redefining the school’s culture for the better: valuing academic integrity, respecting the education of all students, rewarding hard work and perseverance and enforcing administrative policies for the sake of student learning. With the administration’s increased monitoring of hallway cameras, teachers can no longer get away with allowing students to leave class early.

As disappointing as this change may be for some students wishing to have an early end to their day or more time for passing periods, the heightened surveillance adheres to the responsibility students and faculty alike must uphold to promote positive citizenship within the RBHS community.

Although students and staff have yet to fully correct issues from year’s past, the changes enacted under new principal Jacob Sirna’s administration allow for a more accurate definition of what “Freedom with Responsibility” truly means for RBHS. Now, more so than ever before, the concept of responsibility is equal to, if not greater than, students’ idea of what freedom once entailed.

Do you think RBHS should have a stricter phone policy? Let us know in the comments below.