Reopening the Pool

With the administration planning to send us back to school full time, one question lingers in the minds of the students: When will the pool reopen?

For those that do not know, the pride and joy of Needham High School is the Olympic-size swimming pool that was built on the roof fifteen years ago. Before the unfortunate mask-and-toilet related incident in the 100s bathroom, the pool was only the second most important part of our great school, and due to the aforementioned event and the extremely distracting smell that came with it, the pool has risen to the top of NHS’ Seven Wonders. 

Because of the pandemic, the pool was unfortunately shut down to follow social distancing guidelines. Nonetheless, there were reports in January of several seniors on the swim team sneaking up to the roof to go for a swim, although they were unpleasantly surprised when they found that it had frozen over due to the frigid weather. As we approach May 7th, conversations regarding the fate of our beloved pool are ramping up and getting quite heated. 

In a poll held by the official NHS Pool Instagram page, some students made the argument that opening the pool would cause an uptick in COVID cases. However, on the other hand, there were students, mostly underclassmen (who the pool has characteristically been less popular with) who claimed that keeping the pool closed was a form of censorship. They did not elaborate on what was being censored, but, to quote sophomore and varsity swim participant Vicky Barbera, “This is like 1984 all over again, but with pools. Instead of Big Brother watching our every move, it’s Mr. Sicotte, which is somehow worse.” 

Personally, I am in favor of the pool opening, although with restrictions. There need to be rules in place for who can enter the pool, when, and for how long. The congregation of people who run the pool, colloquially known as the Pool Guardians, had a meeting in the 700s stairwell regarding just those issues. If you could not get to your class on Tuesday because there was a mysterious, invisible force blocking you from moving up the stairs, that was the reason. We tried to tell them to meet somewhere else, but they said the 700s had the perfect energy for the occasion. 

After a long discussion between the overseers of the pool, they finally came to a conclusion: sophomores, of course, get the longest amount of time in the pool because they have to do NHD, and they deserve a little treat. People who have below a B+ in math also get extra time, but only if they maintain that average. First year students are proposed to have the same amount of pool-time as the sophomores as a reward for not being in middle school, but only if they meet the aforementioned math grade standard. Seniors and juniors will have reserved “upperclassmen-only” swim-times on Thursdays and Fridays, but each student gets one minute each. Extra note: there will be a single dodgeball in the pool that, if you throw it at the person in the pool and it hits them below the head, they lose their time and it gets tacked onto yours. 

Despite what the Pool Guardians have proposed, there is still the chance that Mr. Sicotte will overrule their decisions. If this happens, do not enter the 700s stairwell for approximately three business days, as they will be congregating once again.