By Sana Yousuf, Staff Writer
At the beginning of this school year, the blue room was opened to seniors as a place to go during their lunch periods. Many seniors jumped at this opportunity with excitement, and the blue room has since become a popular spot to escape the crowded cafeteria and pass time with friends. However, it was recently announced by the River Hill administration that the blue room would be “closed indefinitely” due to the improper clean-up after lunch by the students.
Many seniors who were frequent visitors of the blue room expressed frustration in response to the news for various reasons, including crowded seating situations and the loudness of the cafeteria. Senior Anna Sretenski states,“I am not happy about it. I really don’t like sitting in the cafeteria because I am always being squished. I strongly disagree with the closure because the cafeteria is really noisy and there are too many people.” Senior Sofia Solimani seems to agree, adding that “It shouldn’t have happened. We didn’t get many clear warnings. I think we should have gotten another chance.”
The decision to revoke the senior’s access to the blue room was made a few weeks ago, as a result of the students in the gathering space failing to take proper care of the area. The messes left by students included trash on the ground, food spilled on the tables, and other various wrappers left scattered throughout the area without being picked up. This mess was routinely left by the seniors after each lunch shift, and got worse as the year progressed, which ultimately led to the closure. The closure was announced by Mr. Penn, who states, “We initially wanted to give the seniors a space that they can take pride in, but we noticed that students who were not seniors were also coming into the space, and bringing food from the cafeteria.”
Administration’s concerns regarding the condition of the blue room extend past the River Hill students. The blue room is used for events such as band recitals and musicals, and staff are worried that visitors of River Hill, such as family members, may get a bad impression of the school when they see the mess in the blue room.
Some students were not happy with the abruptness of the announcement. Senior Gabi Demuren comments, “I understand why it was closed, but I think we should have been given a warning before the blue room was closed, so that we could have a chance to prove that we can keep it clean. Hopefully the administration will give us another chance soon.” Mr. Penn addresses these statements, explaining “We’ve [administration] been discussing reopening the blue room, and we are considering the possibility of that happening after winter break.”
As of now, seniors who formerly enjoyed using the blue room as a way to spend their lunch period can only hope to regain their privilege of accessing the area so that they will be able to continue to use the space during lunch for the remainder of the school year.