Are The Commons Truly Accessible To All?

Let’s discuss how students hangout around the neighborhood in the stairwells, bathrooms even. Why do you  think some do that? I have my theory. My theory is that since we aren’t allowed to use the common areas that are “dedicated” to us students, they hangout outside of school or in the stairwells and the bathroom. I asked another one of our peers how they feel knowing that some of their peers and or friends are hanging out in the neighborhood, bathrooms and or stairwells. One of our peers said “If I’m being honest I don’t feel angry or upset about it, I’m more worried that something could happen to them seeing as this isn’t the safest neighborhood.”  If students are worried about this you can imagine how serious the issue truly is. 

Teachers tell us the common areas are dedicated to us students, meaning that those areas are there for us to use. If those areas are there for us to use then why is it that I see and hear student’s being shooed out of those area’s and told we can’t be there for free period time or flex time. Let’s hear what our fellow peers think about the common areas and how we use them or lack thereof. Student A said “When you’re trying to do your work in those areas with permission to be there and they tell me to go to the library I get aggravated and annoyed.” Student B mentioned that “the library and the classrooms are too quiet or too loud and working in those environments is uncomfortable.” Plenty of other students said some things along those lines, they feel at peace and like they can focus in the common areas.