Students and teachers can’t agree on the purpose of a hallway. The students see it as the best possible spot to gather each morning, while teachers and administrators see it just as a place to walk.

At 7:20 a.m. students stand in the hallways, goofing around as they wait for class to begin. As soon as a faculty member walks down the hall, the students press up against the lockers, thigh to thigh, as if they were young children recognizing their wrong doing. The students look and smile at the teachers as they pass, then it’s back to the same old thing—kids bickering and talking about the latest gossip. It seems harmless, but teachers would like to see students sitting down against the lockers doing work rather than socializing.

Some teachers and students see the hallways as passageways; however, other students see the hallways as a place to talk and catch up with friends.

“The academic hallway is a place where students can sit and work in a quiet setting. If students want to talk they can go to the mall,” Environmental Education teacher Mike Pisani said. “I don’t make the rules, I just enforce
them.”

“The crowding in the halls is sometimes a problem because it makes it hard for people to pass by. It also can get loud with all the people that stand there goofing around. So it makes sense why some teachers would get mad and make us move.” junior Andrew Archuleta said.

Most students will agree that walking through the hallways can be challenging. Sliding in and out between people isn’t the easiest thing to do, but it’s no different in the mall. In the mall students huddle closer together so their voices can be heard over the loud roaring of other students. Some students avoid going down to the mall for fear of the overwhelming mass of people.

While the teachers want to see students in the academic hallway sitting up against the lockers, it seems to me like we are more in the way up against the lockers as opposed to standing up in the hallway. When a student stands and waits impatiently to gain access to their locker, as soon as a group member spots the student, the whole group is told to move. This constant shift of people is unnecessary.

“The rule for sitting against the lockers was addressed because students would impede the flow of student and teacher traffic. At one point, orange tape was placed on the ground to signify where the students could stand,” administrator Lisa Gruman said.

I say instead of sitting against the lockers we make a compromise: allow students to stand up but not intrude upon the center of the hallway. That way it allows students a quicker transition (from sitting down to standing up). This way students will be free to walk through the halls and have easy access to their lockers.

-Shelby Moul