Complaints

I stood outside of Napa High in the freezing cold at 8:00 am last Saturday. Sounds like fun. It was not. One might ask, what is a teenager doing at school on a Saturday morning. That is a very good question; I was waiting to be allowed to take my SAT IIs. The SAT requires numerous checks to validate that the test taker is actually the person they claim to be in an effort to minimize cheating. I have no problem with increasing or maintaining a high level of security for I want the SAT to be a fair test.  However, the process at Napa High was unnecessarily long. I waited over an hour before I went into the designated classroom and did not even start the test until 9:30.  In contrast, other schools where I have taken national standardized tests, both the ACT and SAT, had everyone’s identity validated before 8:00. Why was the process at Napa High so long? Why did no one complain or attempt to speed up the process?

First of all, no particular person was to blame for the extreme delay. The system of validation encouraged long lines and waiting with its single identity checker and sole student distributer. One teacher would match the ID card with the SAT ticket and another teacher would direct students to the appropriate classroom.  Instead of this long irksome process, why can’t the proctors of each individual classroom check IDs? There is no valid reason. The high school organizers of this particular system made the process cumbersome for no apparent rationale. With a little bit of extra thought and consideration, the whole test taking process could be a little less painful.

While I was waiting in this annoyingly long line, I heard plenty of grumbles about how inconvenienced the students were feeling. Comparisons to other high schools and irate remarks about the sanity of the organizers floated around in the air. No person, especially a teenager, wants to waste over an hour of their weekend because of someone’s un-thoughtful actions. Yet, no one dared complain during the process or after the test.  I was puzzled.  Why did I complain? I did not want to risk my test scores because I was mildly inconvenienced. This was not a battle I was willing to fight. Apathy and laziness were not factors in my decision of refraining from complaining. The potential repercussions greatly outweighed the reward. An hour of my time was not worth possibly invalidation of my test which would subsequently prevent me from going to the college of my choice. When people do not complain, it is not because they do not care or lack the backbone to stand up for their opinion. Instead, individuals determine whether the long term repercussions outweigh the ephemeral gains.