The learning commons is an essential part of our school. Whether you’re eating lunch, quietly studying, talking with friends or waiting for a ride, the commons is your sanctuary.

However, students began to leave their trash all over the commons. This led to the implementation of some new rules, meant to keep the commons clean and provide new spaces for students, but in this process, many students have been isolated.

The first rule, which I believe is a necessity, is that the cafe will be closed during lunch periods if students do not pick up their trash. As high school students, we are expected to be responsible and independent, yet leaving our messes for other people to clean is anything but.

The next rule is that the cafetorium is supposed to be a quiet study area. While this may sound semi-viable on paper, the truth is that all this rule did was push more people into the commons.

The commons are a large space; however, they are simply not large enough for every single student during lunch periods. The cafetorium worked as a great place to divide up the sheer number of students during lunch, while giving them a comfortable space to eat and talk with friends. With that space now repurposed to a quiet study zone, many students that ate in the cafetorium decided to move to the commons.

This influx of students has led to the commons being absolutely packed. Many students wander, looking for a table, but end up having no luck or having to sit with complete strangers.

This issue only worsens during block days. My friends and I have Lunch A on Thursdays, but in order for us all to be able to comfortably eat together, we have to run during the passing period, desperately searching for open seating.

On non-block days, the problem still exists. I often see students taking chairs from various tables in order to be able to sit with all of their friends. While this may not seem like an issue, it ends up with six or more kids all crowding around a small wooden table.

Although these new rules seek to give students a calm learning environment, all they do is overcrowd and overwhelm the commons– leading to even more messes than what was already apparent. These regulations attempt to clean up the commons, but instead mess up lunch periods.