MS 447 Hallway Warzone

Imagine walking down the ramp from the main building to the west wing, and all of the sudden, a student shoves another student , and they fall on the floor. The student gets a bad floor burn as they slide down the ramp. The older kids are laughing at them, while others stare on without helping them up. The student quickly gathers your scattered belongings and hurries on to class.

When students enter the hallways to go to pack, some people walk each other to pack, or roughhouse in the halls beforehand. A reason the hallways are so jammed is that students fight before going to class, or stand around in the halls stalling for a class that they don’t particularly like. This can result in students being late to class and missing learning time.

In between periods, the hallways still are chaotic. Some students report being late to class due to fellow peers blocking the stairwells. Some students report being bullied or teased in the hallways between classes. Still, there may be other reasons for this. Some peers say that they see many students walking the wrong way in the hallways and pushing past other peers. Others say this may be partially based on the class a student is coming from. Some people may have lots of energy after periods like lunch and PE, or get antsy after ELA and Expo, periods where kids don’t move around. In the afternoon, eighth graders cram into the stairwell, causing some students to fall down the stairs. Students get pushed trying to reach the Yondr unlocking base. 

An eighth grader says, “There are always the kids that block the stairwells coming up and down from the courtyard. Some push into each other, and I’ve fallen down the stairs multiple times.”

They think the hallways are chaotic because students are eager to get out of class and feel like passing time is a time to express themselves after 43 minutes of learning. They claim that if kids calm down while passing through the hallways, then passing time would be much less chaotic.

 Another student says, “I think the hallways are very nice, with the exception of students walking the wrong way.” They think that the hallways could improve by having more distinct signs showing which way kids should walk. “I see kids walking the opposite ways of the direction doors, and it's annoying because they just ram into you on your way to class.” They claim that students want to get to where they need to go faster, they just don’t care how they get there. 

Reporters interviewed Mr. Dallas, the restorative justice coordinator. Mr. Dallas says that the hallways are relatively safe, and that it’s up to students to get to class on time. Dallas says that he always tries to do his best to monitor the hallways and make sure that kids are safe while walking to class. He says that kids like to say hello to each other in the middle of the hallways, causing traffic jams. Dallas says that he wishes that kids would walk on the right side of the hallways so the hallways would be less crammed.

If you see someone that's fallen down, stop to help them. Don’t be the person who stares and walks past.