LEO is becoming fuller, which means all the teachers are cracking down on some of the unnecessary rules. It also means that some of the students are becoming more audacious, especially with the communication rule, “Students may not communicate with each other at LEO. This can include but is not limited to: talking, waving, high-fives, head nods, smiling/smirks, and eye contact etc.” I have been against a lot of the rules here but the worst one, in my humble opinion, is the communication rule. I believe humans, especially teenagers should not be forced to be in such social isolation. On the bus rides to and from LEO we can talk amongst each other, but the only time students can kind of communicate at LEO is during exercise time. Each individual class is  divided into small groups and given the opportunity to go to the gym for eight minutes to shoot hoops, play ping pong or toss around a football or frisbee. I am very sad to inform you that those eight minutes are usually the highlight of my day. Sometimes when I go to the gym, I get the pleasure of small talk with some of my inmates. Usually, I can find out their name, grade and why they are attending the lovely institution that is Leander Extended Opportunity Center.

         I wanted to do a story on the students at LEO because a lot of them have very interesting stories. I have overheard multiple conversations about how they did on their math test to how they were almost arrested the night before. I am not able to get face to face interviews, the administrators thought it would be more appropriate for me to type out a survey. The administrators handed the survey out to all the student after they have completed their school work. Only 26 of the 36 students at LEO answered the survey. Of those 26 students who took the survey, two forgot there was a back to the survey. Which means they were factored out of two of my three statically based questions. So,15 out of the 24 students say they have regrets about their past action. Six  out of the 24 students say what they did was worth getting LEO and 11 out of the 26 students say they are in one or more extracurricular activity. The rest of the questions on the survey were a little more personal. What is your outlook on LEO was one of the questions I asked and I got responses like “I think LEO is actually good, the teachers are more dedicated to your learning.” But I also received responses like “I hate it here and never want to come back” and “Sometimes, it feels like they do everything they can to make it feel like a prison. You get a lot of work done though.” My favorite response was “Everyone makes it out to be only for ‘bad’ kids.” Another question I asked was how is LEO affecting your home life? These answers varied and I was quite shocked when I read that for a lot of the students’ LEO was not affecting their home life. But there were a few responses that were unique. “People think I am a bad person” and “Parents are a lot harder on me, yell a lot and my brother ignores me now.” The one that stood out to me was “I hate my family now, is has caused so many fights within my family.” I asked the students if they were nervous to go back to their home campus. A portion of them are not nervous because they know they have friends to go back to, but the others don’t share the same view. “Yes [I’m nervous to go back to my home campus] because I feel like my reputation is ruined.” and “Yes [I’m nervous to go back to my home campus] because I feel like my grades will fall once I get back.” Another iconic response was “No [I do not feel nervous about going back to my home campus] I’m actually excited to be able to wear cute clothes again.” Some people were going into LEO with a positive mindset, “Best [part about LEO] – ET! Why? Because you don’t have to sit in your elementary-sized desk for eight minutes and can actually talk and get to know your fellow inmates. Good news! I have made friends. God bless ET.”

         Most of the students in LEO (or at least the ones that took my survey) all feel the same way. Most of us regret our decision and did not think it was worth it. But in the end, we all must accept the fact that we are here and we must do our time. The least we could do is try to stay positive and keep a countdown to our last day.