This year has brought many changes to our school. With our new dress code, no spirit days, and constant construction throughout the year, students need to adjust to a lot of change. With no cafeteria to go to anymore, students go to Soby Gym to enjoy their meals. But how adequate is this new lunch area?
At first, it seemed impossible to move our cafeteria into a gym. How were we supposed to get our food? It seemed as though we would be eating packed lunches the whole year. However, the cooking staff has effectively made fresh food for all students. The meals have been similar, if not identical to those in previous years, which is greatly appreciated. In addition, the spacing in the gym feels less crowded than it was in the cafeteria. However, many issues come along with the space.
Seniors are permitted to eat lunch with staff in the Black Box Bistro. However, this space is incredibly isolating and small, and it is difficult to feel as though it is truly a special place for seniors. Although it was meant to be a gift to the seniors since they do not get the new cafeteria and library, it was honestly ineffective. If there were decorations or comfy places to relax, maybe it would be used more.
Now that Soby Gym has been converted into a cafeteria, the sports that had once been hosted there are forced to move elsewhere. JV volleyball has to hold practices in the Field House. This will also be difficult as winter comes along because it will be hard for there to be enough space for all the basketball practices when Soby cannot be used anymore.
Also, the smell of food spreads throughout the hallways of CT, which does not make it feel as clean as it used to be. It is hard to think that the cafeteria is only an attachment to the area yet leaves such a potent smell.
In addition, to try and direct traffic into the lunch area, the doors into the hallway of Soby are shut for a couple of hours during the day. Students have to make the trek all the way around the school in order to get to lunch. Along with this, students also need to set their bags away down in the Field House, which is a hassle given the fact that all classes are easier to get to through the doors that are shut to students during those hours. Students that would only have to take a short walk to get to classes in CT are now forced to go all the way down to the field house to grab their bags, and then head all the way around the school to their class. These changes are an inconvenience for students.
It concerns me that once it gets further into the year, students are going to be stuck walking outside instead of through the warm hallways. Especially near the field house, there can be lots of black ice in the winter, and to have to walk through it a couple of times just to get lunch is not ideal. If students were able to set their bags down elsewhere, such as a classroom or office perhaps in CT, it would be much more convenient.
In conclusion, while it is appreciated that the food has been kept the same and there is more space in the Gym than in the classroom, there are also many complaints about the situation. However, this situation is not permanent, and it was likely quite a lot of work to make the gym into a suitable space for serving lunch. Therefore, I think that people should definitely be grateful for the situation given to us, and that at least we get fresh food each day.
