By Mia Deno and Maximilian Tiao

Many Lowell students are stressed out, but are split on whether the schedule is the cause of their stress, and many would like later start times, a survey by The Lowell conducted on March 22 and 23 shows.

The Lowell conducted this because the administration is considering changing from the school’s current daily schedule to one of two possible new schedules for the upcoming school year in response to concerns about student stress. The survey polled three registries from each grade, totaling 344 students.

More than half the students surveyed reported they frequently felt stressed out in the past month because of school or school-related activities.

Students were split on whether they thought Lowell’s daily schedule was stressful for them. About 20 percent of students said they “agreed” with the statement “Lowell’s bell schedule (daily schedule) is stressful for me.” Roughly 14 percent of students “strongly agreed” with the statement. However, 39 percent said they felt “neutral,” 15 percent “disagreed,” and 12 percent “strongly disagreed.”

Thirty-three percent of all students surveyed said that Block 1’s start time stressed them out.

Some believe the 7:35 a.m. Block 1 start time of the current schedule is stressful. Seventy-seven percent of students reported currently taking a Block 1. Thirty-three percent of all students surveyed said that Block 1’s start time stressed them out.

Over 45 percent of students said they thought a later start time would reduce their stress the most, compared to having more breaks during the day or fewer classes. Twenty-one percent of students who start with Block 1 said they were frequently late to their first class.

Over 45 percent of students said they thought a later start time would reduce their stress the most.

One of the biggest reasons for a change in Lowell’s schedule was the need for a common break time, at least 30 minutes, so that students would be have time to meet with teachers, study and catch up on work, and eat lunch. Nineteen percent of students said that they sometimes don’t eat lunch. In The Lowell’s survey, students were evenly split on whether they have enough time to meet with teachers or study for tests/quizzes/exams.”

Regarding later start times, a bill was introduced to the State Senate in February that would make it mandatory for all California public middle and high schools to start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. It’s set for a hearing on April 19.