Going by "Samohi Standard Time"

Alice KorsStaff Writer Although small, the time difference between the school clocks and satellite clocks (such as those on our cell phone) is deliberate.

When that one student in your first period who is habitually tardy to class is suddenly on time every day — and by a whopping two minutes — one can wonder how that is possible. Many Samo students recently noticed that their cell phone clock no longer matches that of the school. Of course, one would think that, because cell-phone time is digital, the school clock must be wrong. However, Dean of Students Catherine Baxter explains how the two minute discrepancy is actually a technique used by the district to keep school clocks on time.These days, everyone expects time to be accurate down to the millisecond. Because fewer and fewer people still use analog clocks, many people are not used to their mechanics. Analog clocks are not as precise as digital, because they gradually gain milliseconds as time goes by.Over the course of the year, the district clocks — which are still analog — slowly gain time until, by winter break, they’ve jumped four minutes ahead. To compensate for this disparity, the administration sets the clocks back by two minutes every sixth months. For instance, let's say a cell phone reads it’s 1:00 in September. The school clocks may match the time on your cell phone in September, but by January, when a cell phone reads 1:00, if the administration hasn't set the clocks back, the school clock would read 1:02. To make up for the gained time, the clocks are set back to 12:58.But why isn't the time just changed back to the correct time, 1:00?According to Baxter, the district would prefer to adjust the time only twice a year, so that at any given point within the year, the school clocks are within two minutes of the "accurate" time. Depending on where the clocks are in the "Samohi Standard Time" cycle, students will be either at an advantage or a disadvantage.For example, there are half as many tardies in the winter, due to the extra two minutes students have to make it to their classes. However, when the clock is two minutes ahead near the end of the school year, students may be more likely to be late if they're using digital time.According to junior Molly Greenberg, there are benefits to the current Samo clock setting.“I’m less tardy now because the clocks are so slow. I always think I’m going to be late, but it turns out I never am,” Greenberg said. “I think it’s a good thing we’re tricked into thinking we’re going to be late. That way, we never are.”akors@thesamohi.com