An email sent out Friday, Jan. 17 by Upper School Dean of Students Kevin Williamson explained the Student-Parent Handbook changes, which went into effect the start of the second semester.

“Having a semester break now allows us to make changes as needed so we’re not behind on time,” Williamson said. “Every year things change and we revise the handbook. Hopefully we don’t make any big wholesale changes during the academic year but now we have the opportunity to make changes as needed.”

The first change regards the parking and traffic policy on campus. The revision states that students must now obtain approval from the dean’s office before accessing their cars during the academic day. Upon permission, students must retrieve their items with celerity, as no dawdling on any campus will be allowed for security assurances.

“I dislike the [change] because it is unreasonable and shows the admin’s lack of trust in students,” Gaurav Kumar (12) said. “Cars are a useful storage space for many people traveling to and from Shah, and I don’t see any reason why going to your car would cause any sort of problem.”

According to Williamson, the revision to the parking policy arose following his consultation with the security department, which had observed a trend of students spending school hours in their cars. No rule previously restricted students from doing so, and so the administration implemented the change to discourage vehicle access during the academic day.

The second change concerned library policies and services due to requests from the librarians. The library will now only charge the actual cost of lost books, rather than charging an additional processing fee for the item as they had done previously. Students will still continue to have a three week period to return library items, after which they will receive two email notifications before any charges to their student accounts are processed.

“The policy changes regarding the library are pretty minor,” Librarian Lauri Vaughn said. “We don’t suffer a huge number of lost books, and I don’t think this change will significantly increase or reduce our numbers.”

Along with the changes regarding the return of library items, the email mentioned an online book blog that replaces a now dissolved reading club. The Book Blog, which nears almost 7,000 hits, contains book reviews by students and faculty members.

The librarians hope that the advocacy of the blog through the handbook will encourage students to make more use of the site, which has accumulated 200 book reviews since the initiation of the site last May.

“I believe the online blog serves as a better outlet for students to satiate their reading desires, as the reading club requires commitment times which are eradicated with the use of the blog,” Shikhar Dixit (11) said.

The final adjustment to the handbook noted that a student with a serious and contagious illness will not have permission to attend classes and school-related activities so long as he or she either has the condition or the possibility to spread the infection. Consent to return to school will be granted by the administration or by the student if he or she obtains proof of medical clearance.

“I know a lot of people come to school when they are sick, and hopefully this new policy will persuade more people to take a day off rather than be miserable all day,” Elizabeth Edwards (10) said. “This policy also seems like it will help prevent sick people from spreading their germs to the rest of us, which is something I think everyone can appreciate.”

The Student-Parent Handbook, which contains a more detailed overview of the changes and rules, can be accessed through the student and parent portals on the school’s website.