When sophomore Nadia Ansari has lunch, sixth hour, she looks through the crowded commons. She has 47 minutes to do her work, but is finding nowhere to sit. When she finally squeezes into a table she looked through the doors to outside. This made her question: why are students not allowed to eat in the courtyard?

What if you were blended during those hours and you wanted to go do work? Unfortunately you can not, because the courtyard is closed during lunch hours. As a student who is blended during all lunch hours, I have never been able to experience the new courtyard, as well as other upperclassmen.

When talking to other students, they experienced the same predicament. 

“I have never used the courtyard before. I am only blended during my lunch hours and we are not allowed to go out. I feel that students will respect the rules, but we have never gotten the option,” junior Rebekah Micheal said. 

Why is the courtyard closed off for students who want to enjoy a meal or snack during the day? The courtyard was open for the first week of school but then suddenly was closed off. When talking to staff, they all had the same explanation. 

“The custodians do not have time to clean up the courtyard as well as the whole school. It is not in the custodians contract to clean up the courtyard. That is the only reason it is closed off for lunch.” dean Thomas Kempf said. 

I understand not having enough staff to clean the courtyard, but most students respect the zones they can eat in. Students should be able to eat where they want and be held responsible to clean up their own messes. As of now the courtyard is off limits to eat in, just like many other places in the school.

Students respect the places they can eat in, but some have disrespected the no food zones in the past.  

“Students last year disrespected the seats in the medical hallway and the main staircase. I do not find it shocking that students are not allowed to eat in the courtyard. It would be nice if we could but other students have ruined it for all,” junior Rosa Collela said. 

Students need to learn to treat the spaces they are allowed to eat in with care. If students would have respected the spaces last year, they may be open to eating this year. 

As young adults who will be out of high school in the next couple of years, we should be given more trust than the younger incoming students. 

For now, you will just have to find a seat in the crowded commons and look at the courtyard from afar.