The transition from summer to the school year is complicated, full of last-second shopping and frantic, almost post-summer reading. However, one the biggest changes in many students’ routines is their bedtime. For most, this means the return of the dreaded curfew. A more structured day calls for a more structured night.

Many students, especially upperclassmen, have seen major changes in their curfew flexibility from summer to school.

“During the summer…, I [sometimes] get to stay out just past 2:00 in the morning. During the school year it all changes,” senior Fran Heston said.

While Heston’s nightly summer curfew depends on what she has going on the next day, she usually has one night a week where she can stay out later. However, when school starts, Heston’s curfew becomes earlier and more concrete.

“[My summer curfew] always depends on my parents’ mood,” Heston said. “My [school year] curfew on most weekend nights is 11 p.m.”

Senior Kaeley Pilichowski has to cope with much less of a time shift at the start of school, transitioning from a summer curfew of 12:30 a.m.

“When I started to drive [home during the summer,] it was midnight,” Pilichowski said.

She had to drive home relatively early due to the Washington State Intermediate Licensing Law, stating that new drivers can’t be behind the wheel between 1 and 5 a.m. for their first year of driving.

Pilichowski says that the law wasn’t the only factor in determining her curfew.

“I have a curfew because [my parents] don’t want me out driving at the same time the bars close, [when] there are potentially a lot of drunk drivers on the road,” Pilichowski said.

Reasons why parents enforce a curfew vary. However, most curfews depend on the relationship between teens and their parents.

“The idea of trust is hugely involved with curfews,” Pilichowksi said. “Some kids have proven to their parents that they can’t be trusted.”

Senior Tommy Kranwinkle believes that the curfew is reliant on the adult imposing it.

“Parents worry about where [their kids are. Some kids just have a curfew because] their parents are overbearing, overprotective, and super controlling.”

Kranwinkle understands basic parental concerns and admits that it is logical for parents to “want to protect their kids.”

The word “curfew” usually has a negative connotation, but there are some aspects which some teens agree are beneficial.

Heston believes that curfews reflect how much parents care.

“My parents want what is best for me,” Heston said. “I usually like curfews.”

Initially, Pilichowksi was angry about her curfew, as she thought there was no reason for her parents to doubt her.

“At first, I didn’t agree with [my curfew] because I thought [my parents] didn’t trust me, and I didn’t understand why that was the case. Then my mom mentioned that there could be people out drunk driving and I thought about it and was thankful that I had that curfew because it showed how much my parents are concerned for my safety,” Pilichowski said.

Though curfews, in most cases, are constructed with the best intentions, they can come up at the most inopportune times.

Kranwinkle is one who feels like he has more rules to abide by than his friends.

“Most of my friends don’t have curfews and I do,” Kranwinkle said.

Pilichowski feels especially bad when her curfew affects her friends. “It’s frustrating because if I’m having a friend come back to my house late, and they don’t have a curfew, I have to impose my curfew on them because I have to be home.” In other cases, Pilichowski feels that having a curfew has caused her to “miss out on things” which happen after she has had to head home.

Some students believe that despite how restrictive their curfew sometimes feels, they would still take measures to enforce one on their future children.

“I wish curfews were on a trust basis, but I feel like I would be overly protective because I had a curfew as a kid,” Pilichowski said.

Heston said,“I’m not going to let [my kids] leave. I need someone to hang out with. That’s why my parents make me stay home so much, so I can hang out with them.”

By: Jacob Greene