By Claire Burnett, The Current Co-Editor-in-Chief
During lunch, students have the option to sit in a variety of places, including the cafeteria, media center, or outside. Students may have noticed the blue room, the area outside of the auditorium and dance room with a blue carpet and walls, filling up with furniture in each corner of the room. Starting this school year, the blue room has been open for seniors during all lunch shifts.
Starting the first week of school, students were notified of the new seating arrangements and were presented with a few rules. Firstly, students must be seniors in order to be allowed into the blue room during lunch. This is done to prevent crowding in the blue room. Students must also clean up after themselves and be respectful of the nearby classes. Students can expect an administrator, usually Ms. Volinsky, to be stationed in the blue room during lunch and ensure that the space is being used properly and students are respecting the rules. According to Ms. Volinsky, “I try to be in the blue room for A and B lunch shifts.”
The blue room has both its perks and drawbacks in terms of a lunch seating option. Many students enjoy the large, comfortable chairs in the room. Others enjoy the quiet atmosphere compared to the noisy cafeteria. Senior Jett Born commented, “For lunch, it gets very crowded in the cafeteria,” which is why he prefers to eat lunch in the blue room.
While other areas of the building are known for being particularly hot or cold, students have noticed the comfortable temperature in the blue room. Senior Ian Tran described how “It’s warmer than my fourth period class. It’s not too cold and not too hot.”
Despite the perks to the blue room, there are a few drawbacks. The most obvious constraint to the blue room is that only seniors can use the space during lunch. Some underclassmen feel left out, especially if most of their friends are seniors. However, many seniors are strong in their opinions that other grades shouldn’t be allowed in the blue room. Senior Michael Liu remarked “After four years of high school, we deserve something like sitting in the blue room.”
Furthermore, the room only has four small, round tables in the room to allow for the flow of hallway traffic between classes. Some students have noticed the lack of seating and have turned to sitting on the floor near the auditorium doors and the bathroom doors. Ms. Volinsky reassured, “I’m spending a lot of time thinking about ways to give [seniors] more furniture in the blue room.”
Overall, the blue room is a great new seating option for some students, but as is any other seating option, it is not for everyone. The blue room is expected to stay open for the rest of the year, although it is subject to closing for events like picture day.