New vest system improves visibility, campus safety

Blue-colored vests hang on a rack in Mrs. Creighton’s photography classroom on Oct. 18, 2024, at Manteca High School. (Lesley Gallo/The Tower)

By ROCCO RATTARO, RAIYAIN MASUDI & CHRISTIAN AMBRIZ 
The Tower 

In a bold move to improve campus safety, Manteca High has rolled out a new vest system that all students must follow.  

During class, you can catch students walking to the bathroom or office in vests. The majority of these vests act as bathroom passes for students. This method allows campus monitors to identify whether students are where they need to be. The vests also help reduce the number of students wandering around campus. There are three different-colored vests for the bathroom, each coordinating with a different zone on campus. There are other colored vests for specialty classes, such as journalism/multimedia, photography, Link Crew and leadership.  

Campus monitors are the ones that are enforcing this new system. Campus monitor Emmitt Gause is a fan of the rule. 

“The new vests are a good system that allows us monitors to know what students should be on campus or not,” Gause said. “Our jobs are to make sure that you’re in your vest. You should either put your vest on or go to the office and explain to them why you don’t have a vest.” 

Vests have improved visibility on a campus with plenty of hiding spots. From a distance, monitors, administrator, campus staff and teachers can tell why a student is out of class.

Kayron Grisham and Brennen McMichael wear different-colored vests as they walk down the center of campus on Oct. 18, 2024, at Manteca High School. (Joseph Atalig/The Tower)

Vice Principal Debi Chavez played a big role in adding the vests as bathroom passes. Previously the bathroom passes were pieces of paper or a card you wore around your neck. Students would often put them in their pockets, fold them up, or misplace them.

The vests can be seen from afar, unlike the previous passes. Per school rule, students must wear the vests as they’re intended when outside of class. In addition to the vests, students should also be wearing their student IDs around their necks, center chest.

“We want to make it visible when students leave to use the bathroom,” Chavez said. 

The system hasn’t been universally accepted. Like most school initiatives, students have voiced their concerns.

There are students who refuse to wear the vests as they’re intended, instead folding them into their back pocket or clinched in their fist. Some believe there are hygienic issues with the vests. A common fear is that students who don’t wash their hands or may be ill can spread germs through the vests. Some students believe the vests draw unwanted attention.

“I think the bathroom vests are bad because some people don’t wash their hands when using the restroom,” sophomore Nikko Juarez said. “Their hands can be dirty, and I think it’s pretty nasty.”

Not all students disagree with this rule, though. They don't mind the vests at all. 

“I think that the vests are drip,” student Gabe Scott said.

While a lot of students do not agree with the new vest rule, school staff appreciate the added measure of safety and accountability. They believe that the new vests will make sure that students are really using the time to go to the bathroom or doing something class related for journalism or leadership.

“I think that vests are a really good idea,” teacher Matthew Eavenson said. “While I liked the previous idea of wearing your pass, they were too foldable, and they got ruined. I think the vests are a great way to make sure that students are in the right areas for education.”