The halls of New Trier High School have been looking a little different lately; there are no longer posters promoting club fundraisers and events on every wall. Instead, there are four new bulletin boards for posters around the school: one near the scrounge, one on the first floor by the cafeteria, one on the second floor by the One Stop Trev Shop, and one on the second floor by the attendance office. The Northfield Campus will soon have bulletin boards in similar, central locations.

Previously, club leaders could print a maximum of 25 flyers, obtain approval and a stamp from the student activities office, and then hang the posters around school. The only limitations were that posters could only be taped onto tiled surfaces, to preserve the paintwork of the building, and could not be placed on windows and glass doors.

But with over 150 clubs at the Winnetka Campus, the number of posters around the school was creating clutter. Expired posters were also becoming difficult to keep track of, according to Stacy Kolack, Student Activities Coordinator and Head Sponsor of Student Council.

“Nobody followed the rules, so they were just everywhere,” Kolack said. “Nobody would take them down, and they were supposed to be taken down after two weeks. I’m only one human being and I can’t visit every nook and cranny of the school.”

The bulletin boards are not a new idea; they have been under consideration by student activities for several years, but it wasn’t until recently that they were implemented. This decision comes after several visits to other schools where bulletin boards were being used to provide information to students.

“This change was designed to streamline communication, reduce clutter, and make it easier for students to find information,” Kolack said. “Kids are able to look and know where information is posted rather than hoping they come across it somewhere.”

However, several students and club leaders are concerned that this change will make information harder to find, not easier. Senior Lily Dale, a club leader for both Calliope and Film Club, believes that having posters located all around the school makes students who may initially not be interested in a fundraiser or event, learn about it by accident.

“I understand why [the decision was made], however I think it would be a lot easier to have [posters] everywhere,” Dale said. “I think that makes information more accessible because when it’s just in two places, people aren’t gonna be stopping to congregate near the boards and read them.”

Senior Katie Kelly, founder and leader of Breakfast ‘N Books Club, shares Dale’s sentiment. While she doesn’t deny that they were creating clutter, she enjoyed seeing posters around the school because it allowed her to learn about new things during passing periods.

“I understand that [using bulletin boards] makes the school cleaner, like there are less things being thrown at you everywhere. And if you want to look at something, you can look at a bulletin board,” Kelly said. “But I kind of like that everywhere you went, you could see something else. I feel like I learned new things just by seeing other people’s posters.”

Looking ahead, Kolack is confident that the bulletin boards will make communication clearer and more accessible. Since the new system is a work in progress, if more boards are needed to reach more students across the campus, they can always be added.

“We’ll assess it as it goes,” Kolack said. “It’s still new. If concerns come up, we’ll address them as always.”

The other noticeable, though less significant change to the building, is that bathroom stalls now have frames on the back of the doors for specific posters. These will be used for school-approved programs promoting students’ health and wellbeing.

“We want kids to know that those [frames] are dedicated for the Mental Health Advisery Board in collaboration with the Health Services and the Student Assistance Program,” Kolack said. “It’s through a school approved program, so that’s why, just like the  Student Council frames on the first and second floor.”

These frames are a much smaller and less debated change, as these school programs were already using bathroom stalls to display their posters. The frames further signify that Student Activities is promoting certain school-approved programs, not student-led clubs.

While Kolack said that “by and large people have been really respectful, I haven’t heard any grumblings yet,” about both the frames and bulletin boards, students are concerned that the lack of posters around the school will remove some of the vibrancy and excitement of New Trier’s hallways.

“It gives personality,” Dale said. “The posters give a personality of the student body and what we’re interested in and what we’re pursuing.”