Lunch is one of the only times when students get to see everyone during the busy school day, catch up with friends, and relax. The new schedule allows for students to have more free time in the morning, but it’s usually dedicated to students meeting with teachers or catching up on work. The lunch period is split into two: lowerclassmen lunch and upperclassmen lunch. Every other day of the cycle, lowerclassmen eat from 12-12:30, and the other days from 12:15-12:30. On those days, the 75-minute period block cuts into the first lunch, leaving them with fewer than 15 minutes to eat. Upperclassmen eat from 12:30-1 every day. The inefficient lunch schedule has been an issue for many students and faculty and is in need of reparation.

The freshman and sophomores have been annoyed with the lunch timing and tables. Sophomore Nina Reya says she only has about five minutes to eat on the days when there’s a 15-minute lunch break, and sometimes has nowhere to sit because the upperclassmen are already cutting in line and taking up all the tables. She says that she has had to sit outside or stand while eating, and it’s mostly because of the upperclassmen. Sophomores Matthew Gluckman and Will Belleville can relate to this, with each of them getting fewer than five minutes to each lunch every other day. They both find it hard to find chairs, but they try to get to lunch early in order to claim a table. Will has also been kicked out of his table by the seniors because they wanted his seat. He thought kicking him and his friends out was unfair and unnecessary. Freshman Bode Cice says he usually gets around five to ten minutes to eat because he tries to get there early before the upperclassmen. He’s not shocked as to why upperclassmen kick people out but thinks it is rude and unnecessary.
On the other hand, the upperclassmen are mad for similar reasons. They share the issue of overcrowding with the underclassmen; however, fail to acknowledge the limited time that the underclassmen are given to eat. Before Junior Sarah Metcalf knew about the 15-minute lunch, she found the lowerclassmen staying past 12:30 a little frustrating. She knows that they have a lot of time after lunch, but she also realized that it makes sense they stay so late. Senior Colin McKinnon also found the lowerclassmen annoying because he usually has nowhere to sit, but this was before he knew about their timing. Sarah and Colin have both had to either sit in the middle school hallway during lunch, sit outside, or simply skip it. Because crowding is such an issue, both of them usually get to the lunchroom at 12:15, hoping to get a table. But, this creates issues for the lowerclassmen.

Overall, both sides of this problem are to be blamed on the timing and lack of space. To fix this mutual issue, a new schedule would be beneficial for all grades.