EHS students have noticed a change in the commons area, especially during lunch periods. For many students, this change isn’t a welcome one.
Over the summer, renovations began on the side of the cafeteria opposite the lunch lines. What used to be space with tables, windows and doors to the patio, now is a partially painted gray wall.
Students who recall the cafeteria from before renovations began, like senior Addie Lingafelter, worry about the lack of sunlight in the area.
“In the past, I was happier at lunch because it was brighter and boosted my mood.” Lingafelter says.
The temporary wall will be up until August of next year.
Interim Principal Alex Fox says about the construction, “It’s unfortunate, but the bottom line is we have to suffer this year to benefit next year. I know that’s not what the seniors want to hear.”
The school has reestablished the courtyard as added lunch period seating for seniors, weather permitting. Several students, like Leo Stein, find the newly accessible space peaceful.
“It’s easier to focus and I can enjoy my time better,” Stein says.
In the 2021-22 school year, outdoor seating was available in the patio that’s now blocked off for construction. There were rows of tables with tents covering them that kept outdoor seats available, even when the weather wasn’t ideal.
No such buffer exists for the courtyard this year.
Stein and other students are concerned that during winter, rain or storms, they’ll lose their outdoor seating and will have to migrate indoors and navigate the crowds.
Fox says the renovation should expand the cafeteria to double its current size. The new edition will include a kiosk for more food options and space for sports and activities to practice.
But for the renovation to occur, a great deal of space is lost. And with EHS’s large student population, there’s no feasible way to seat all students in the cafeteria, especially during the 10-minute overlap between lunch periods.
Freshmen Kaitlyn Mapel and Maggie Hertz say the crowded and cramped cafeteria is in stark contrast to the middle school lunchrooms they’d grown accustomed to.
The crowding has led the school to designate the D gym for overflow lunch seating in years prior, but the environment this year is different.
The D gym tables, a combination of old ones from the library and ones that used to be in the cafeteria, are pushed to the padded wall in the back of the room. Though quieter than the cafeteria, the space is dimly lit and has limited seating.
Sophomore Lucy Heepke avoids sitting in the D gym, but when she and her friends don’t have their normal lunch space, they’d rather spend lunch there than navigate the busy cafeteria.
“There’s too many people, not enough seats,” Heepke says.
With limited seating in the cafeteria, D gym and courtyard, some students opt to spend lunchtime in the lobby area of the commons where seats are equally scarce.
While the changing scenery of EHS is a difficult adjustment for many students, Fox insists it will be worth it for future classes.
“We should be at a point next year where there’s plenty of seating for everybody,” Fox says.