STOP THE COUNT!

Oxford Academy must delay the morning bell.

Evenhewasweirdedtheheckout, big brother — April 1, 2026

Restrictive Bells: Oxford Academy’s 8:30 a.m. bell has gone too far, and an intervention is needed. (Collage by Evenhewasweirdedtheheckout)

Oxford Academy students have been met with a wave of authoritarianism: minutes are going by too fast in the morning. Oxford students deserve transparency from their administration about the seconds and minutes before the bell rings. Students must be allowed to examine the process on how minutes are being counted, and the school must stop the count and delay the morning bell to promote public safety and student morale.

In the interests of public safety, delaying the morning bell would allow students to calmly walk into school. For the well-adjusted seniors and juniors, who have given up on running to school altogether, this may not cause changes. But for middle school students, who roll around their backpacks, this can be life or death; faced by the uncertainty of when the bell will ring, they rush to class, cut off eight people on the way, and run over others' toes, leading to potentially fatal limb damage, which is the only obstacle keeping Oxford out of D1 sports.

Tardy students also display ethical bankruptcy, tarnishing Oxford's reputation and morale. As they flaunt their tardy slips and throw them away in class, drawing attention to their disregard for the school bells, they set bad examples and diminish the Patriot name. By stopping the count of minutes, there will be less tardies, and thus less opportunities for these students to corrupt fellow peers.

By prolonging the morning bell, Oxford will also be able to fit more songs from that first five minute bell — which should become a full hour's grace period — into a DJ mix. Listening to the DJ mix is a future Oxford tradition, crucial for setting students up on a promising pre-raving and moshpit pathway. Instead of counting down on students' attendance, Oxford must redirect its interests to raves like Countdown, supporting student development and college and career journeys.

The administration argues that the morning bells hold students accountable, but accountability begins with well-rested students. Students deserve their rest and have been honest and upfront about that since the beginning; the school owes its student body the same. Students falling asleep in class have shown transparency and a silent protest against injustice. The school must respond and do its students justice.

Oxford Academy must stop the count and fulfill its duty to the students: transparency and honesty. Students must continue to protest by continued tardies and absences to the morning bell to make their voices heard.