We’re over a week into the start of school and Ventura High School students are yet to do The Pledge of Allegiance at the start of second period after The Call to the Colors, as it has been routinely done for the passed several years.

The Pledge’s absence has been felt on campus by returning students, as they are habitually ready to say The Pledge after the short song, and have been wondering why we no longer say it. When asked about it, Principle Carlos Cohen explained that, “Since we got a new bell schedule, I dont have the number of minutes that I had assigned before.”

However, I brought to his attention the fact that The Pledge of Allegiance takes approximately ten seconds. To this, his response was, “I would love to do what the students want me to do, especially with [this]. I would much rather do both… We’re thirty eight seconds in, what’s another ten.”

So, I went around and asked students on campus if they would be willing to take the extra ten seconds to say The Pledge. That way even if they chose not to participate, other students could still have the option to stand up and say The Pledge if they wanted to and if The Pledge means more to them than just words. When asked, Junior Sage Kirkpatrick’s response was, “Yeah I would want to do it… because I support America.”

Regardless of how patriotic or not-patriotic, VHS students seem to come to the consensus that even if they personally don’t care for The Pledge of Allegiance, it should still be said so that students who care about it have the opportunity to pledge to the Flag.