As an incoming sophomore, I was ecstatic to be on the main campus this year. It felt good to finally become one of the “cool kids.” However, I am not able to fully enjoy this new position because I have to constantly worry about my bike’s safety.

Being an avid bike-rider for nearly my entire life, I know how important it is to have a safe place for your bike at school. Bikes, on average, cost around $200, but some can even go up to $900, depending on what type of bike you get. Therefore, it is important that there is a safe place for students’ bikes, especially since it will be sitting in one spot for several hours. 

Right now, like many other students, I have to get crafty when it comes to protecting my bike. I have to resort to locking it to a tree, a random pole or a fence. The only bike rack available to students is at the back of the ninth grade campus, and it only has four slots available to students. This means that if you’re running late to school and attend the main campus, you have to run all the way across the ninth grade campus, then through the main building to your classroom in order to not be counted tardy. It’s an excessive and unnecessary walk that can easily be resolved by providing multiple bike racks on both campuses.

Before, the main campus did in fact have a bike rack placed by the doors facing the ninth grade campus. However, after construction started, they removed the bike rack and have yet to replace it with another. A large number of students go to Hebron, and a good amount of them have cars, explaining why there is a large amount of parking spaces available to them. However, not all students’ families are able to financially support them having a car, and a bike is a cheaper alternative for them. The school has the ability to invest in getting multiple $600-$900 bike racks, so they should take the time to discuss the matter and figure out how to fix the problem. 

Locking my bike to a tree is nerve racking, to say the least. Not just because I fear that it will get stolen, but because of the reactions I might get. Since the first day of school, I have been anxiously thinking about the thought of being called down to the office, only to be told to move my bike. If that were to happen, I’m not sure what I would do, because there is absolutely no other safe place to secure my bike. 

The entire point of a bike rack is to have an organized and secure area to place your bike. If you haven’t noticed, there is always a security camera next to a bike rack. When students are not given that area, a lot of them have to place their bikes in either places with no cameras or in obscure settings, such as laying their bike near the front door, just to make sure their bikes are on camera. Bikes are stolen on a daily basis, and studies have shown that every 30 seconds one is taken. 

This is an issue that can be easily fixed. Though the school had to get rid of the bike rack due to construction, they could have easily relocated it to another area so students could still safely secure their bikes. However, deciding not to do that has left myself and many others to fend for ourselves until change occurs.