Every kid at Joliet West who has ever been referred to the ISS room will tell you of the unfair conditions that occur in the punishment process. Not only is it too easy for students to receive the treatment, but the rules that kids are expected to follow within the environment set an example of inhumane structure. Of course there are some students who fool around and commit acts that match the ISS room service, but kids can be forced into it just by being tardy to a class three times. The hallways are crowded, making it too simple to be late to class if you don’t push your way through everyone, making yourself more vulnerable to upset the wrong person.

The worry about having to serve time in in-school-suspension is one thing, but actually experiencing the negative consequences is another. When you first enter the room, students are to collect and complete a packet of work that topples on top of classwork. You cannot work on assignments for regular class, preventing a student from learning and forcing them to fall behind. Not to mention talking is never allowed along with eating food aside from their selection, no turning around, and no resting your head. If you finish the packet they give you early, your only option to not get in trouble is to literally stare at the wall in front of you. Joliet sophomore Stephanie Unzueta says,” ISS is unnecessary. I missed dozens of classes last year for being tardy. And it never worked, I didn’t learn anything from my ‘mistake’, it just took me out of classes that could have taught me something. I rather give up my Saturdays in detention than lose class time, but I was told that wasn’t an option.”

So while the whole point of the idea of ISS is to somewhat teach kids a lesson, it does nothing but make things worse and hold a kid from prospering. Nothing is at all learned. If the regulations consisted of getting classwork done, assignments could be completed and a child’s progress could be uplifted, granting a sense of encouragement instead of bringing things down. It is very evident that this topic needs to be brought to the attention of the board in order to find a reasonable solution. This is a major problem for the kids who have to suffer through even just an hour of the place.