Students are now allowed to use only the main stairway for going down.

The front of upstairs D and E hall has become the socializing area during school hours and in between periods. This has caused numerous tardies and consistent traffic jams. Principals decided to put an end to it for the start of this new school year.

“We have had a big problem with kids being late to class because of this social meeting place,”  assistant principal Kim Morisak said. “It was like a whirlpool up there and hard to get through.”

The goal of the policy is to cut down on kids being late to class and begin and maintain an even traffic flow for the stairways and halls.

“The policy has already cut down on tardies,” Morisak said. “It is now easier and more efficient for students to get to class.”

Students gave mixed comments on the new policy when Principal Stewart Herrington first announced that they could only go down the main stairway.

“There have been a few kids who have complained and asked why they can’t go up the main stairway and only down,” Morisak said. “But I have actually had eight or so kids come up to me and thank me for finally paying attention to this issue.”

Some kids have found it even more difficult to get to class because they must now take a longer route to their next period.

“When I come from H hall, I have to go all the way to the front of upstairs E hall,” junior Eryn Capretta said. “It is almost impossible to walk all the way down E hall, up the stairs, and then back up to my class.”

Some students believe the policy will last all year because it has sufficiently helped after only two days, but others disagree.

“I don’t see the policy lasting for much longer,” Capretta said. “I already saw kids walking up the stairs at the end of the very first day.”

Both positive and negative effects have come out of this new rule.

“Yes, it has helped control traffic,” Capretta said. “but it’s limiting students’ accessibility in a different way.”

Although the policy has made it a little harder for some students to get to class, it has for the most part received positive feedback and helped control traffic.

“We intend for this to be a normal policy and for it to stick around all year,” Morisak said. “However, if it begins to not have a positive result anymore, then we will reconsider it.”

by Catherine Festa

photo by Shelby Tauber