“It just throws off my whole day,” said Avi Grode (12). Portage Northern students have to deal with the left door on the second floor east hallway everyday because the builders of the new school never put into consideration how students would get through. The handles are only on one side of the door -the left side, making it difficult for students to pass through the area. The Portage Northern staff needs to fix this problem immediately.

For starters, it’s just un-American. America is able to create a nuclear bomb, put a man on the moon, and send a man to skydive from space, yet we still must deal with problems as simple as figuring out how to properly install a door. In all their lives Americans walk on the right side. “Everything’s on the right side,” said Alyssa Willson (12). “America’s already considered stupid, it only makes things worse.” I can imagine Canadians laughing their heads off right now at the ignorance of such American mistakes.

Secondly, the stairway is just confusing. People have to cross over to the left side to open the door. Students shout to others on the other side to let them escape from the stairway, as if they’re trapped in a cage with no exit. Students have to debate whether to walk on the wrong side of the stairway all the way down or try to make the drastic switch once they reach the door. It’s enough to give someone a headache trying to squeeze through the door. “It confuses me every time,” said Grode.

On top of all of previously stated problems, the door is a hazard. If students ran into each other “someone could get a concussion,” said Rae Herbert (12). This is an obvious concern to students and staff alike. This could lead to bad publicity for the school or even a lawsuit. Just imagine the embarrassment that could be avoided if we just replaced the dang door.

Some may say that we have bigger problems to worry about such as our economic difficulties and the current job crisis, but how do they expect anyone to concentrate on worldly problems when we are all stressing about this door? Clearly fixing this door is a priority – the fix must be made.

INJURIES BY THE YEARS: Did you know…

• In 2004, 1,307 people died from an injury involving stairs in America alone according to Nation Master.
• In the most recent studies done in 1996, 116,657 were injured participated in a door related activity according to The Consumer Product Safety Commission.
• A lady from New York filed a lawsuit against Apple for hitting her face against a door in March of this year.