On Monday at 2:00pm, parents and guardians of the senior class received an email that they’d seen before. Their children’s computers would once again be collected due to safety concerns, the email stated.

By Tuesday morning, the NASH Library was transformed into a technological inspection center, and seniors were called out of their 1st period classes to deliver their machines to the Tech Services staff who awaited them.

But the timing might not have been all that bad.

“I was excited when I found out our computers had to be shut down because it gave me an excuse not to do my AP Calculus homework” Julia Moose said.

Zach Brennen also rejoiced.

“It was an easy way to not do any of the homework I had to catch up on because of the musical,” Brennen said.

However, not every senior was as excited about the computer collection as Moose and Brennen were.

“Our laptops have not exploded in the past four years, so I do not think it is going to happen now,” Soumyak Mattagajasingh lamented.

To streamline the process of collecting laptops from over 600 students in one morning, NA’s Client Services Manager Seth Spangler set up shop in the library with the rest of his Tech Services team.

“On Monday, we were told by HP that the battery could potentially cause a burn or fire hazard,” Spangler told The Uproar.

Once the machines were collected, the Tech Services crew ran a utility to check the batteries. In all, the process took a couple of minutes per laptop.

“It is the senior class model that has been giving us the most issues over the years,” Field Support Manager and Sr. Network Administrator Matt Over said. “This is the third year this model has given us an issue, so we are used to being called to fix them by now.”

Almost exactly a year ago, on March 12, 2019, 78,500 HP computers were recalled worldwide for posing fire and burn hazards. Tech Services performed the same duty at NASH last year and determined that none of the student computers were affected.  The same outcome is expected this year, but it was still necessary to check all computers for safety reasons.

By 12:30pm yesterday, Spangler, Over, and their crew had processed all of the laptops, and a PA announcement directed seniors to return to the library to retrieve their machines.

“It was a relief for me to get my laptop back,” Jenna Brandt said. “I have a bunch of scholarships I have to submit and an English essay to work on.”

Morgan Cima, on the other hand, could not help but feel a bit disappointed.

“I was enjoying all the free periods and lack of work,” Cima said. “I had hoped it would last longer than a day.”