It is outrageous that 18-year-old students, legal adults under the law, cannot sign themselves off the school’s campus. Once we turn eighteen, society trusts us to vote in elections, serve on juries, sign binding contracts, enlist in the military, and even be tried as adults in a court of law. Yet in the eyes of our school, we are still children who need a parent’s permission to walk out the front door at lunchtime.
This is not just inconvenient; it is morally wrong. Especially since this policy was implemented recently, meaning past Costa students were given the right, as legal adults, to exit campus if necessary. If a student has a medical appointment, feels extremely ill, or needs to leave campus for a personal matter, they are prohibited from leaving campus unless a parent fills out a form online, excusing them, or personally commutes to campus to retrieve them.
Of course, the counterargument is safety. Schools fear liability, truancy, or misuse of freedom. But if the government believes 18-year-olds are responsible enough to elect presidents and defend the country, then surely schools can trust us to handle a trip to our doctor. Responsibility is not something you magically acquire at 21. It is a skill developed through experience. Denying students that freedom only delays the growth that schools claim to foster.
“I feel that as an eighteen-year-old adult. If I have a personal matter I need to attend off-campus, I shouldn’t be required to call my parents out of work to come sign me out. I am an adult and should be able to exit if I need to”, says senior Mary Kate Brown.
The very foundation of adulthood is personal responsibility. By refusing to recognize that milestone, Costa is sending a condescending message that maturity and legal status do not matter within their walls. That undermines the very real responsibilities 18-year-olds already shoulder in the outside world.
For example, as adults, students may need to appear in court, meet with an attorney, or handle paperwork at government offices, all of which typically operate only during school hours. In many cases, a parent may not be available to accompany them, but that does not erase the responsibility. As legal adults, they still have a duty to show up and handle these obligations on their own.
“I had a very important college meeting that was scheduled during school hours because that was the only available time they had. My parents weren’t in town and I wasn’t able to get in contact with them, so I had to reschedule because I couldn’t leave campus as an adult,” says senior Sienna Saul.
High schools need to catch up to reality. Legal adults should be treated like legal adults. Refusing to acknowledge this is not protection. It is infantilization. If administrators want to prepare us for life beyond the classroom, they must start by respecting the law and respecting us.
Because if we are old enough to determine who’s running our country, we are certainly old enough to sign ourselves out of campus.
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