Coughing. Sneezing. Constant sniffling. These noises fill in the silences in the classrooms. Students and teachers suffer through the cold season, which picks up in early November and lasts until late April. Especially towards April when spring allergies are just beginning, at least once every period, the inevitable question arises. “Where are the tissues?”

Teachers are constantly asking for students to bring in boxes of tissues and hand sanitizer to help prevent the rapid spread of sickness. Unfortunately, at the rate they’re being used, almost none of the classrooms have any more tissues to spare. According to CDC, Adults have an average of catching a cold two to three times a year, and for adolescents, it’s even more.  

Some students didn’t even notice the lack of tissues.

Freshman Samuel Johnson-Saeger, said, “Yes, I had a cold for like three months, but no, I haven’t noticed the lack of tissues.”

Whereas on the other hand, others are constantly bothered about the vexing issue.

So where are the tissues going to come from? Is it the rate that tissues are going or is it the fact that sanitary supplies aren’t as important when it comes to the budget?

Tissues are an issue in most classrooms, especially in room 638.

Geography teacher Gabi Martinez, said, “I probably get asked for tissues about twice per period. Yeah, they go quick. Mrs. Hicks she had a whole cabinet full of kleenex from the kids who bought kleenex and so in the beginning of the year, I asked ‘Hey if you guys want to bring in kleenex, it’ll probably get us through the year’ and nobody brought any. Zero people. But I think it goes fast, when people see kleenex they use them as like paper towels or as napkins as they spill something so that stuff usually makes it go quick.”

Social Studies teacher Lisa Navarre, also weighs in on the situation.

”We can’t pay for kleenex for 2,000 people all day long, everyday,” she said. “The school district can’t either so the students just need to bring a box. If every kid just brought a box of kleenex to your classroom, we would have endless kleenex! I used to try to bring it, but I was buying 6 or 7 boxes a week, like, I can’t do that.”

Is it that there’s no budget for sanitary supplies?

Treasurer Monika Czebotar, said, “Tissues aren’t in the district’s budget.”

Tissues seem important to the everyday life of a classroom, but a more realistic outlook comes from school Nurse Liz Blackwell.  

“Everyone would like tissues, but we also don’t supply medications that students need,” she said. “We supply band aids and immediate needs, on the the other hand, we do ask students to supply their own things such as backpacks, pencils, and various other things.”

So what can you do about this issue?

Martinez said, ”If everyone brought kleenex then you might be able to make it through half a semester or an entire semester. I think the most effective way is probably just having kids bring in tissues or maybe to send an email home just to say we have a shortage in kleenex and they would just bring in a box.”

As the new school year rolls around and you come across “kleenex” on your supply list, consider bringing some in to help your fellow classmates.