Monday afternoon, East’s students and faculty participated in a routine fire drill. There was nothing unusual about this drill, save for when it took place: at the end of 8th period, the very end of the school day. Students and faculty were ushered out of the building as usual, but were allowed to move straight to their buses or cars upon exiting school.

Students–particularly seniors, who prefer to leave the parking lot before the buses depart–benefitted from the extra 5 minutes to reach their buses. However, despite this fringe benefit, many students still seem to prefer the traditional fire drills.

Marissa Ditkoff (’13) said, “I like fire drills to be during the day, because we miss class.”

Julia Waldman (’13) said having fire drills at the day’s end is “kind of stupid. Getting everyone frantic isn’t a good way to end the day.”

Erica Gorenberg (’11) said, “I think it’s sort of pointless because everyone in the entire school knows how to leave [the building from] 8th period…we sort of do that every day.”

Whether or not future fire drills will be held after 8th period remains to be seen. However, East’s student body clearly has some issues with the new drill.