A musty hallway, a spacious bubble, a hallway with tables, and a sunlit lounge with chairs and couches; where would you want to spend your time? 

Upper school students have access to four ‘student territories’, each belonging to one grade. The freshmen hallway, sophomore bubble, junior hallway, and senior lounge are provided for students to spend their free time in and hang out with one another. Yet, do the students even spend their time in these spaces? 

The freshmen hallway is often vacant; the foul smell and setup aren’t appealing to most students. Instead, freshmen occupy the library and tend to take up most of the room there. Since their space doesn’t offer them much room or comfort, they don’t really have any other options. 

“The freshman hallway is fine because it fulfills its purpose of being a space to store our folders, equipment, and such — but a lot of other freshmen dislike the freshman hallway,” said freshman Gemma Lasky. She acknowledges that the other students’ spaces are “cooler”, but sees it as a rite of passage for upperclassmen. 

After freshman year, there is a slight upgrade to the sophomore bubble – which is at the end of the freshmen hallway. Although it still has the same musty, smelly feel, there is much more space to sit and hang out. Still, the majority of students tend to spend their free time elsewhere. Sophomore Andrew Carpenito describes ‘the bubble’ as “​​very rundown and not exactly the cleanest place in the school,” so he much rather prefers to spend his time in the library, where he can focus and get work done. 

According to administrators, this hasn’t always been the case. 

“The weirdest thing has been that the freshmen hallway and the sophomore bubble seem to be abandoned, which has been a really big change from previous years. Especially as the dean of the class of 2025, both those places were really well populated during their ninth and tenth-grade years, so it has been an interesting shift,” said Head of English Department and junior class dean Brigid Moriarty. 

The junior hallway has multiple tables for students to do their work or just hang out. However, it is right outside of the science classrooms, and juniors have been penalized for being a disturbance to those classes. Although it provides a place for students to do their work, it is distracting when it is crowded and people are hanging out there. Some juniors prefer to spend the majority of their free time in the library to be more productive than they would be in the junior hallway. 

“I think that it is kind of a step up from the bubble and freshmen hallway because the tables are really helpful when you’re trying to work and are easy to have conversations at, and neither the bubble or hallway had tables,” said junior Lizzie Doherty. Since the library is usually full of freshmen and sophomores, she uses the junior hallway in her free time. 

“My hope is that it will be, A) a space that feels welcoming and inclusive and anybody can use it, and, B) a space that is respected and allows for students to be together and socialize, but also do work, and study or meet with a teacher; a dual space,” said Mrs. Moriarty.

Last but not least, the senior lounge, located in Goodhue with quick access to the quad, is the most favored of the student territories. Recently refreshed with new couches and chairs that have controversial reviews, the lounge is a comfortable and fun place for seniors to spend their time.