As we return to normal life after COVID and remote learning, the arrows in the hallways have been a big part of the changes to the school put in place to limit the chances of getting COVID. The big part I hate about this new system is that if the entire 500 hallway starts passing period, it’s all fine until I get to the stairs where there is a major blockage and it takes forever to get through. The big problem with this is that some students have to go all the way out to the ATC after having to get through the crowds of people and it is just a big inconvenience.

I think that it would be better to remove the arrows and go back to the old way of moving around in the hallways because the arrows, as far as I know, aren’t preventing COVID and we’ve already removed masks, so why not remove the arrows as well? Although the arrows may make movement in the halls more controlled and directed, it causes major crowding and potentially the spread of disease. 

The arrows do not make us stay six feet or even three feet apart and we don’t even have to wear masks anymore, so I really don’t think there is a purpose for the arrows in the hallways anymore. Another example of inconvenience to students is if I wanted to go to the music hallway, I would have to go all the way around the freshman wing.

Another thing that students are doing is standing in the commons talking to each other. It’s just groups of students talking together and makes it annoying to get anywhere because they think they need to stand in the commons. They stand in circles and stand in front of the stairs and block places off.  It is very annoying to get anywhere in this school whether it’s annoying people blocking the stairs, people walking slowly in the hallways, or the arrows causing people to get crowded. I think it would be a good step to allow freedom in the hallways again because it would make a lot of peoples’ days better and hopefully stop the crowding in the hallways and on the stairs.