As students walked into their classes for the first time on Aug. 22, most were greeted by the regular arrangements of inspirational posters, floods of green course sheets and ice-breakers. Few, however, expected that their classes would be stuffed with more than three dozen students.

In order to help compensate for extra student enrollment and limited resources, many classes have exceeded last year’s average number of students. According to assistant principal Brian Safine, last year’s student body total of 1,354 increased to 1,393 this year.

Science classes, which are located in some of the largest and newest buildings on campus, are not permitted to exceed 30 students due to safety concerns, but a limit does not exist for any other classes.

Walls should not dictate class sizes. In order to provide a successful and safe learning environment, class size restrictions should be extended to all subject areas.

Michelle Drouin’s 4th period AP Calculus AB class is an example of an overflowing one. The desks line the walls in closely packed rows with sufficient walking space available only in the front of the classroom, opposite the exit at the back of the class.

After the end bell rings, a line forms at the door, and it takes a couple of minutes for everyone to exit the classroom. In the case of an emergency when fast escapes are crucial, 39 agitated people will not be able to escape in a timely fashion.

Apart from safety, the academic atmosphere in a classroom struggles when too many students are present. One-on-one help and question time becomes unfairly limited when teachers are confronted with many students. Teachers already have difficulty fitting all of their lectures and activities into the allotted time, especially in AP and honors classes, leaving the small amount remaining to be divided among all the students. Students who do not understand the material and are ignored in class cannot always resort to a packed tutorial for clarification, especially if it falls after a test or a hard night of homework.

Although the school is known for stressing a stringent integrity policy, it allows too many students in classes where they are inclined to cheat. Many teachers are very stringent about practices to prevent cheating, but no matter how many calculator lids or water bottles are removed during a test, a person who is two feet away from another has many opportunities to let their eyeballs roam. This is especially unfair to honest students because they too will fall in the same pot as the cheater if a teacher believes that they let the other person look at their papers.

Aside from the academic disadvantages, large class sizes also pose a health hazard to students. Once flu season starts and germs circulate around the school like wildfire, packing students in close quarters will insure quick spreading. It is very uncomfortable for a student to turn away from the person coughing on their right, only to be sneezed on by the person on their left.

It is understandable that the school would have a hard time implementing class size caps when it was hit by both monetary constraints and an unexpectedly high enrollment. However, the success of a school starts in the classroom. Extra additions or improvements to the school should be a lower priority when the core is falling apart. A simple redistribution of students could be a solution, as some classes fall below the 20 student mark. Hiring an extra teacher or two could make the difference between students having a firm grasp on a subject and lagging in class. It is not necessary to resort to private school class limits, but the school should at least keep rosters in the twenties.