At 12:05 p.m., U-High’s lunch period has just begun, and students are scattered throughout the school, slumped against lockers and clustered together across stairways. Lively, echoing chatter drifts through the hallways, as students giggle noisily through bites of curly fries and sips of iced lattes. Occasionally, the faint sound of hurried typing rings out as people frantically try to finish their homework before their next class begins.
These ninth graders can be found just about anywhere in the school — except for the cafeteria.
Instead of sitting in the cafeteria, the majority of students prefer to eat their lunch along stairways, against their lockers or in the student lounge outside the library. After several minutes of students rushing in and out to purchase food, the cafeteria is virtually void of ninth graders, despite the many seats available.
Ninth grader Dorothy Jennett is one of the many students who chooses to sit in Gordon Parks Arts Hall with her friends during lunch.
“In GPAH, the lighting is very nice, and there’s more space, whereas the cafeteria is more chaotic,” she said.
Students who prefer a calmer and emptier environment often spend lunch in quieter spaces like Gordon Park Arts Hall or in the ninth grade locker area, instead of the energetic cafeteria, especially if they want to catch up on homework as they eat. Unlike the cafeteria, spaces like the student lounges and Gordon Parks Arts Hall are relatively calm during lunch.
“It’s different from middle school, and it feels like you have more freedom to go where you like,” Dorothy said.
Last year, in middle school, ninth grade students had to eat in the cafeteria during lunch, and needed to stay there for most of the period.
Most ninth graders seem to like the new freedom of being able to choose to eat anywhere in the school, or even leave to have lunch elsewhere, especially because the cafeteria is often chaotic and noisy.
“It’s nice to have your friend group find your own spot, and I think GPAH is a really pleasant space,” Dorothy said.
Owen Hannan is another ninth grader who spends lunch in other places besides the cafeteria during lunch, mostly because of where his friends choose to sit.
“I just eat where all my friends eat,” Owen said. “The lounge is a little less crowded than the cafeteria, and the seats are more comfy.”
As the time clicks to 12:40, the students carefully tuck away their lunches into their backpacks, shutting their computers and slowly heading towards their classrooms. Soon the animated chatter echoing through the school has dulled, as the last ninth graders hurriedly rush to get to their next class. By 12:50, quiet has returned to the hallways.
