Crowded hallways are a common sight at South Windsor High School, particularly during the lunch passing times. As the lunch bell rings, the corridors become densely packed, creating a veritable traffic jam of people trying to get to the cafeteria or their next class. Students are often squished together with very little space to move.
“They are very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very crowded,” reported freshman Hrishi Jonnalagadda.
These crowded hallways sometimes affect student schedules, occasionally causing tardiness. However, for most, the effect is usually minor. “Crowded hallways have caused me to be late to class a couple of times but mostly only when I’m walking back from the Annex,” said freshman Lucksiya Kannan. “If I had to pick a range, probably two or three times, but because I’m walking from the annex it doesn’t really count as late.”
Students who have a class on the second floor of the main building during lunch periods 5 or 6 have also had their schedule affected by the crowd. “After lunch, the stairwells always get very crowded, and it takes a lot of time to get upstairs,” noted freshman Nikolay Gakev.
Amidst the congestion, students can be seen running, pushing, and having to stop walking for a few seconds. These crowded conditions inevitably cause people to walk at a different pace. Kannan described one specific moment when she was walking to class right after the second lunch wave during period 6. “Because I was in the second lunch wave, students were leaving and entering the cafeteria, so the hallways were overly crowded,” she recalled. “This caused people to walk really slow, and it took longer than usual to get to class.”
The school has not yet implemented a formal plan for improving the crowded hallways. In the meantime, some students have found that taking alternate routes for the same classes can help them maintain their pace and arrive at class on time.
