One of the most annoying things in high school is that we are expected to act like adults but are treated like children. This comes into perspective when issues arise during the school day at school or in the community.

We have to find out about these events through other students, teachers or even parents. Sometimes the correct information doesn’t come to us until after the event, causing us to question the actuality of the communication with the students and the staff members.

As students, we have a right to know about what goes on in our school and community. We keep getting told to grow up and be more responsible, but when there is a situation that arises, we are sheltered from it.

For instance, this previous week we had a “shelter in place,” preventing the students present in the school to change classes like normal. An incident dealing with a suspicious gas odor in the west end of E-hall, caused the Manhattan Fire Department and the Kansas Gas Service to come into the school to try and contain the issue.

Anyone present in the school, unless they were directly involved in the incident, was not informed about the gas odor or even what was going on. There were firefighters walking up and down the halls, certain sections of the school being evacuated; and the front loop being blocked off; causing a small surge of panic amongst students.

Now, I realize that it might not be best to inform students about everything, and as the administration of the school, you have to pick and choose what is told to the students. But when it interferes with our school day, we should be given the right to know; not via teachers or parents. The administration needs to inform the student body directly.

Let’s be real, most of the communication through the student body, parents/guardians and the administration is through email. But how many high schoolers check their email on a regular basis? Many of them do not; students check their phone more frequently. So how effective is this way of communication?

Many times, when there was something out of the ordinary that happened at school, I either found out through the grapevine of teenage gossip (which is often incorrect), or after school, when my mom informs me of it.

If you want us to act more like adults, then treat us more like adults and inform us more of what is going in the community during the school day. So please let us know what is going on and don’t leave us out of the loop.