Many students feel the halls are frequently a chaotic place, making getting from one place to another unnecessarily difficult.
Although the hallways have been an issue in the past, recently, many students have felt that hallway behaviors have worsened. “I think the hallways do not have a good flow of traffic, the intersections of the hallways are where things begin to get congested. This is in part caused by people not following hallway norms,” junior Hannah Highberger shared.
A lot of the frustration comes from students who feel other students are blatantly ignorant to what is socially acceptable in a public space. Many students seem to forget the main purpose of hallways and congregate in ways that make it difficult to get anywhere. “Hallway norms should be better enforced. Many people stop in the middle of hallways or even off to the side causing more congestion,” Highberger added.
One of the problematic spots in the school hallways is the intersection by the world language classrooms. Many have complained about the congestion there and that freshman boys have claimed this area as a hangout, forming a congregation that is sometimes impassable. As one of the most frequently used intersections, this causes lots of chaos and tension in the halls.
The significance in this problem lies in the fact that students only have five minutes in between classes for their passing period. In an empty hall, this time restraint would pose no issue, as the school is fairly easy to traverse when there are not hundreds of other students swarming around. Unfortunately this is not the case, leading some students to struggle to get from point A to point B.
As the school prepares for more incoming students with the new additions, there is room for concern for whether the limited amount of time students have will become a more prominent issue. “I am not sure that five minutes will be enough, if a student has class in the new addition on the second floor and then has their next course on the third floor in the tower,” French teacher Melissa Lechtenberg shared.
Students struggling to get to class on time could disrupt their learning, and if the hallways become worse than they already are, students’ frustrations will likely increase as well.
With more and more students coming to the district, the hallway dilemma isn’t something that will go away on its own. As a complex issue, creative thinking will be needed if a resolution is to be found. That being said, students are ready for change and hope this problem will not drag on for yet another year.
