The new lunchroom design is a popular change for the community, with a new layout and upgraded furniture. Following a year of the dining hall staff having to regularly clean up messes, the administration elected to implement a new lunch duty system.

The class deans, thinking about the preservation of the new space, help contribute to the decision to implement this system. However, for many long-time faculty, lunch duty is not a foreign concept within the Dining Hall. In previous years, lunch duty was run by larger sections of the grade and monitored by the deans and advisers.

For the new system, the groups moved from the grade level to advisory groups. Upper School Director Andy King said that the reason for this change was that students would likely be more comfortable with peers and friends they spend more time with. He also noted that students would only be “on duty” for ten minutes once or twice a year.

“We all share the space together; it is a reasonable system. It has a low time commitment with a beneficial payoff for the community,” Mr. King said.

While there was some initial pushback from students, the low commitment and large student body meant that students would only be on lunch duty for a maximum of three times throughout the school year, the equivalent of thirty minutes. However, the administration believes that despite the initial pushback, the system has been a success.

“I think [lunch duty] is working well. Anytime there is a change, there is always an adaptation, but I feel that it has been working well, with the aspect of the Hackley motto ‘United We Help One Another,’ and this is a way for us to help each other,” Mr. King said.

Students have also agreed with Mr. King in that they are only on lunch duty a few times a year, and that the small commitment has led to a better space for the community.

“While initially I felt that it would be an inconvenience, in the end it wasn’t a large commitment at ten minutes and it has really helped keep the Dining Hall a new, clean space,” said sophomore Andre McMahon.

Mr. King hopes that the system remains beneficial to the upkeep of the dining hall in the future, saying, “I would love to live in a world where lunch duty isn’t necessary.”