Story by Maddie Orr and Emily Dearing
With the transition of a brand new principal and additional pressures from administration, RBHS experienced a series of new rule changes and enforcements. Along with an enforced phone policy and a new set of double doors in the North Commons, some hallways during both A and B lunches have become more closed off to students.
In the previous school year, all hallways were free for students to sit, relax and unwind from morning classes. Now, only the two main hallways, the band hallway, the atrium during A lunch and both the Main and North Commons are open for lunches with all instructional hallways shut down.
The reasoning behind this: locking down on noise complaints during class periods.
“This year we’re [enforcing] it because our numbers are larger,” Assistant Principal Dr. Timothy Baker said, “the more people: the more noise, the more disruption.”
Stephanie Harman, an honors physics and chemistry teacher, said noisy students disrupted class during lunch periods, but now, after the policy change, disturbances are minimized, and class moves smoothly.
“I have noticed a significant decrease in not only the noise level but the amount of trash in the halls,” Harman said. “In fact, I can now keep my door open during A lunch, and it really doesn’t change the atmosphere in the room.”
Although some students may be disruptive during lunch, some were just looking for a quiet place to eat. Junior Jocelyn Ash used to eat in an instructional hallway and struggled to find a new place to eat after it closed off this year.
“In my opinion, the pros of not being able to sit near classrooms has allowed the students in the classroom to be able to focus more attentively than before,” Ash said. “The con about this is that when I have lunch so does half the school, so the amount of spots to sit becomes extremely limited.”
With 2,067 students, however, RBHS is reaching its capacity when it comes to space for students to eat, especially since the cafeteria is scarcely used during lunches. Assistant Principal Dr. Lisa Nieuwenhuizen said the school was originally equipped to manage only 1,800 students comfortably but was expanded to fit 1,900 with the addition of classrooms. Also, the cafeteria is supposed to hold 250, maybe more including the commons and outside seating. Junior Amya Carson, who leaves campus for lunch, understands the new policy can cause the cafeteria to not be able to hold the entire student body during a given lunch shift.
“I think that the cafeteria isn’t really used by a lot of people because during lunch it is full. But, there also isn’t enough space for it to hold the entire school,” Carson said. “So it’s just not very used because it can only fit, like, 30 people in it.”
The areas allowed to eat in during lunch are the main commons, north commons, main hallway and cafeteria. Students gravitate toward eating lunch in the band hallway, but it is unclear if that will become a closed off hallway or not.
Junior Nora Pierce used to eat in one of the now closed off hallways and said RBHS administrators need to find more space, whether that be expanding capacity or maybe opening up some hallways without as many classrooms.
“There’s a lot of kids at Rock Bridge and not a lot of room to eat. So, there’s not a lot of spaces if they take away the hallways,” Pierce said. “Even if they did, [eat in the cafeteria] there’s not a lot of room in the cafeteria to eat.”
Another science teacher manages the hallway situation different than administration, a method that maximizes space and provides a quiet place to eat for students. Advanced Placement and Regular Physics teacher Malcolm Smith lets students, regardless if they are in his classes, eat in his classroom during B lunch with him.
“We don’t play the ‘eating in the hallway routine’,” Smith said. “It gives students somewhere to go, so they aren’t just causing problems throughout the school.”
Administration aimed to relieve classes of unnecessary noise and distractions during lunches but left many students discontent. Upperclassmen often go out to eat rather than take up space in the school, which leaves more room for sophomores and freshmen. Ash ultimately believes from experience that although space may still be tight, noise complaints are at a minimum and classes are more focused throughout the day.
“I don’t think administration should change the policy because the only good argument I can make about why we should be able to sit in instructional hallways is not for the benefit of everyone but more self-centered and focused on what I want,” Ash said. “Lunch is only 30 minutes long and the majority of people who have lunch together go out to eat.”
Where do you prefer to eat lunch?[penci_authors_box_2 style_block_title=”style-title-11″ columns=”columns-2″ post_desc_length=”20″ number=”2″ order=”DESC” order_by=”ID” include=”8, 69″ block_id=”penci_authors_box_2-1571897370669″]
