Checkmate

Chess. A scholarly game with a rich history, right? Well, not one you should be playing if you’re on the academic study hall list, according to a recent ruling handed down by administration. “The rules in academic study hall state that students must be doing work or reading a book,” said Mr. Loftus, academic study hall supervisor. “This directly applies to those on the academic study hall list.” 

So, what is this list, and how does someone land themselves on it? Well, students that are failing or are in danger of doing so are reported weekly and may have to stay in academic study hall, as communicated by their teachers and the head of the Academic Study Hall Program. If this issue continues and a student is failing one or more classes when progress reports or report cards come out, they are on probation for the next ten days on the “No Pass” list. If they are still failing after the probationary period, they are placed on the “No Privilege” list as well until they are passing again. 

During the probationary period and until the student is passing again, students are expected to stay after during the academic study hall. During the study hall, they are expected to work, read a book, or sit quietly. This means that if you’re on the no pass or no privilege list, you are not allowed to do anything besides this, which includes playing chess or other games. However, the chess “ban” is not an issue with students who are in good academic standing. “Students without issues may play,” said Loftus. “For example, if a student is not on the list and is waiting in academic study hall for their sports practice to begin, it’s perfectly acceptable.” 

The rule has angered some students who think that it’s unfair. “It’s not right,” said one student in reference to the decree forbidding activities besides doing homework or reading a book. “Chess is just as intellectual as reading; it’s a game rooted in learning and intellectualism.” 

Of course, as stated earlier, this “ban” is one that only affects students who are currently failing or have just begun passing a class prior to a revision of the academic list. On a more positive note, we will likely see that this rule will be affecting fewer students in the future, according to recent administrative data. Frewsburg principal Mr. Gilevski proudly stated that “the amount of students with one or more [class] failures has been cut in half since last semester.” 

So, what will the future of academic study hall look like? No one knows for sure. Perhaps the rules of the after-school study hall need to be addressed and updated; maybe students need to be working harder to pass their classes in order to avoid these restrictions. One thing is for sure, though; students are expected to perform their best in everything they do at Frewsburg, and sometimes, the rules must reflect that standard.