More than half the students at Morton East High are ditching classes.  

Morton East has acted to prevent this, during the 2017-2018 break, installing new doors and adding more cameras, and improvements to security making rounds in the building and out to prevent things like ditching from happening. In a random survey of 110 Morton East Students, 62 students reported ditching during high school. Data on how many students have been caught ditching will be put in during the month of October.  

“I walked out during junior year to go change at a friend’s house; I wasn’t caught when getting out. I was able to come back because someone opened the door for me,” senior April Bautista said.  

Some students come back after short break, but others may come back for other reasons.  

“I did [ditch] last year. I walked out and went to my house. I only came back after-school to pick up my girlfriend,” junior Isaac Gomez said. 

Ditching may be a norm to some, yet there are consequences that a student can face. 

“The first time being caught, students will be given a 2-hour Saturday detention. After that, a full day of LAC, followed by parents coming in, and after that an ISS and a parent need to come in,” dean of students Eric Ramirez commented.