As the day ends and students pile into the hallways, lockers quietly line the walls, often overlooked for their purpose. Being more than just some metal boxes, the lockers embody a unique culture at BCA. Despite their seemingly mundane presence, these lockers hold some unexpected surprises, offering a glimpse into student life at BCA. 

Interestingly enough, a majority of students at BCA seem to not incorporate their lockers into their daily routine. In fact, in a survey of over 100 BCA students, more than 46% said that they don’t even use their lockers. However, for those who do use their lockers, they said that they only visit their lockers about one to two times a day, usually storing away their lunch or jackets.

As for BCA’s best positioned lockers, many students believe that most juniors have the best location. Since a good chunk of the junior lockers are located near the school entrance, many of them find it to be quite convenient as they are able to store their stuff away quickly and easily get to class. These lockers are also located near the lower cafeteria, which is a popular spot to eat lunch at BCA, making it all the more convenient for juniors to grab a quick bite of food or socialize during frees. Although it does get a bit crowded towards the end of the day when everyone is in a rush to leave school, the benefits seem to outweigh the disadvantages. 

“The fact that we’re all centered around the gym/upper-lower caf area is very convenient,” said Kimberley Ni, a junior in ATCS. “The location of it and having a place to unload some of my backpack is great because backpacks can get really heavy from carrying textbooks.’

On the other hand, for BCA’s worst lockers, it can be commonly agreed upon that those lockers are the ones in the math wing and business wing.

Situated relatively far from students’ other classes, these lockers bring inconvenience for those who would like to use their lockers. In fact, some students have experienced being late to their classes after coming to their lockers from class and then rushing to their next class. Therefore, many students believe that it is impractical for them to have to walk from one side of the school to the other just to put away a few items. 

One of the most unique aspects of the lockers at BCA include sharing lockers. Some students, because their lockers are placed in such troublesome spots, often share lockers with their friends. In particular, some grades, or even some academies, have communal lockers, in which students store useful belongings into a single locker for anyone to use at any given time.

“I know the theater sophomores have a communal locker where they have a lot of random things like aerosol, deodorant, spare clothes for dance, and snacks,” said Elena Gergis, a junior in AVPA-T. “From what i’ve heard, it’s very helpful because if anybody forgets something, that person is covered by the locker.” 

  While not a widespread practice, some students at BCA still desire to beautify their lockers through decorating.

 “I come from a town with very big locker culture…people bought shelves and put photos all over the door,” said Rania Rangrez, a freshman in AVPA-V. “I never did that and I came to BCA and said ‘I’m going to do that’ because I thought it was going to be the same, but it’s not. I only go to my locker twice a day as opposed to every single class. So now I just have a mirror in my locker and it’s just going to get dusty because I’m not using it.”

Even more interestingly, most lockers seem to not have locks on them. However, most say that they have never experienced any theft at BCA. Surprisingly, many have left valuables like headphones, art projects, and laptops unguarded in their lockers without encountering any security problems. However, for those with TI-84’s, a word of caution is advised due to a long history of theft specifically targeting them! 

As for cleanliness, the lockers seem to be relatively clean with some exceptions. While some wipe down their lockers at the beginning of the year, others have had some unpleasant experiences.

“I opened my locker once and then there was a cockroach on the sleeve of my jacket and I was like ‘woah,’ but it wasn’t like scary, but it was like ‘woah, I didn’t think that would happen,’ but then it ran away back into my locker,” said Owen Tzeng, a freshman in AVPA-V. “Then I opened it up and it wasn’t in there anymore. So, I don’t know what happened, but I hope it’s gone.” 

Lucky for BCA, some students have come up with ideas to make locker usage more convenient for all. For example, some have recommended placing lockers next to students’ first period classes so that they don’t have to worry about holding all their stuff throughout the day. 

When asked how she would make locker usage better for all, Zumra Kadiolgu, a sophomore in AMST had this to say: “I would say making them closer to everyone’s homeroom because mine is two floors away. It’s a little inconvenient, and I don’t think anyone uses their lockers in between classes because of this.” 

In essence, the collective locker experiences at BCA have formed a unique culture. It is evident that lockers aren’t just storage compartments, but also spaces with untold stories and occasional surprises.