By Elaine Bonilla/se news editor
Students taking on a full load may also have to carry a fully loaded backpack to hold all their books.
In high school, students only had to worry about getting their heavy backpacks from the car to the locker. At TCC, students may not realize that option is still available to them.
The lockers located on campuses are in the health and physical education building in the locker room.
“The lockers are for anyone who wants to use them,” NE instructional aide Trudy Hataway said.
The NHPE lockers are day-use only, so students can leave their stuff as long as they bring their own lock. At the end of the day, any remaining locks are cut, and the goods are bagged and labeled with the locker number. The belongings are then taken to lost and found at business services.
“We try to emphasize to students to not put their stuff in a locker without a lock,” Hataway said. “We suggest to put their stuff in their vehicle or to take it to the workout room with them.”
If students take their belongings to the workout room, they must make sure their belongings are not in the walkway to prevent someone tripping over them, she said.
Some departments provide lockers to students enrolled in their courses.
“There are lockers in the fine arts department, but those are reserved for the fine arts students,” said SE music associate professor Greg Dewhirst. “Those who are in art, music and dance can put their instruments or their supplies in their lockers while at school.”
The NHPE building also provides baskets students can rent out for the entire semester.
“If students wish to leave their stuff [overnight], baskets are supplied to rent for free,” Hataway said.
If students want to rent the baskets for the semester, they still need to provide their own locks.
The Idea Store on TR has lockers available for students to use. Because these lockers are key-based, students don’t need their own locks. To use these, students use their IDs to check out a locker. Students leave their IDs and in return receive a key.
TR community outreach coordinator Angel Garcia said the lockers are available for students while they are in the Idea Store.
“Students have asked on a more personal basis to use the lockers, but logistically, we have not been able to do that,” he said.
Students have options to store their belongings on campus. It’s just a matter of finding out which options best fit them and their schedules. For more information on availability, students should contact student activities or the health and physical education departments on their campuses.