You’re approaching A Building and a familiar thought  rushes into you: oh no, it’s clogged with people again.

Crowded hallways have been the bane of my existence while serving out my freshman year. When you step into the hallway you have to be fully aware of where you are going and what route you’re going to take. It’s like a war zone in these hallways. You have to be the first out or you’re as good as gone. 

It’s really cliche for a freshman to complain about crowded hallways, bathrooms or a crowded path. However, I am indeed going to complain. The hallways are so clustered that when walking into E Building from outside your more likely to get hit with a bookbag or have a door slammed in your face than you are to get in the door before 5 minutes have gone passed of standing outside waiting for people to clear the way.

There are so many reasons why the hallways stay crowded: too much fraternization, slow walking and not enough space for everyone to walk. 

H-F is a very big campus and each building contains a lot of students. Socializing is only normal to do when you have time to. Especially because for the last few years we’ve been online because of Covid. Recently the mask mandate  has been rightfully enforced heavily at our school while in the building. 

While outside of the building, outside on the path, we are allowed to take our masks off or pull them down. Which conveniently is the time we decide to socialize the most. Rather the reason for that is a more comfortable/ convenient environment, being able to be heard more clearly or even just because it’s a passing period outside. We need to find a way to do that in an efficient time and manner. 

Yes, initially, the thought of crowded hallways and paths isn’t that serious. Might even seem like an easy fix, right?

WRONG. Crowded hallways at our school are very problematic for a LOT of people. Jam-packed hallways play into a multitude of problems for students, like getting to class late or trying to get to the bathroom. 

Even getting to lunch in enough time to wait in line, get your lunch and be able to eat and finish it surrounds itself with how fast you can get through the hallways. 

The consequences for being late to class or coming to class after a 10 (sometimes an exceptional 11 minute passing period depending on where you’re coming from) and asking to go to the bathroom or leave the classroom at all can be unfair. Those consequences can even be just down right unnecessary. A consequence I think we can all agree is unreasonable is a three hour detention for being late. You have three tardies within the course of 4 months until you get the ungodly penalty of a three hour detention.  

I could also understand being a teacher and having to give a consequence for doing those said things, seeming as though “the hallway was crowded” sounds like an excuse. 

It’s not just the hallways that get loaded and overall problematic at H-F. The path from South to North Building gets crammed as well to the point some students end up walking in the grass or on the middle of the path going forward and back. 

Solving this problem can be easy if everyone puts in a little bit of effort. Students need to manage their time correctly and responsibly. This is not that hard and should be taken care of soon for the comfort of all the H-F students.