Old Cafe Changes: Student Opinion

By: Walter MacDonald

Recently, the school department decided to close the new cafeteria, meaning all students have to eat lunch in the old cafeteria and student commons. Such a drastic change requires some adjustments to the layout. While some changes have been implemented, in my opinion, there is still some work to be done. The whole area suffers from overcrowding, lines, and some lack of seating. The lack of a dedicated room for the lunch line also results in the line stretching across the room, blocking traffic. Thankfully, all these issues are easily solvable, and the benefits of the changes can outweigh the harms.

In a survey I took during my lunch mod, in which I asked students what they thought the largest benefits and drawbacks of the new layout was, crowding in the lunchroom and Student Commons was a main concern, with fifteen students mentioning it. It’s not very surprising the area is more crowded, as there’s now twice as many students in one cafeteria. The added seating in different areas of old cafe alleviated this problem to some degree, but it can still be hard to find a place to sit if you’re part of a larger group. This is easy to solve though. Just put in more seating! Often, the best solution to a problem can be the simplest one. However, the cafeteria has a ton of tables as it is, and finding places to put new ones can be an issue. There are currently some areas that offer ample seating room, especially the spot near the auditorium where the bake sales usually take place. It still would need to serve its current purpose as a congregating place for the ends of lunch mods, but I think a few tables could fit there too. Another idea would be to let students leave the cafeteria into the courtyard outside. On nice days, people are allowed to eat lunch outside. I think that area would benefit from some picnic tables, and maybe even an awning for people who don’t want to eat directly in the sun.

The other major issue ten students noted was the inconvenient lunch line. It snakes around the room, blocking traffic from the cafe area, devolving into a blob once you get far enough along the line. Everyone going between the line and the cafe creates more bottlenecks as well. Because the line runs in front of the microwave, you have to cut through to use it, and it can be challenging. This could be fixed by switching which line goes to the main lunch and which goes to the cold sandwiches and pizza, adding a second register at the main line, and moving the microwaves over to the cafe. By switching the lines, the main lunch line could go along the wall to the back part of the cafeteria, which means it wouldn’t have to go directly across the arterial path out of the cafe area. The two registers would also help with the long line by letting it move faster. As for snacks, they can stay in the cafe area for anyone who wants to buy them without getting a full meal as well. However, it would also be beneficial to let people in line for lunch buy them too. By moving the microwave to the counter where the cafe is, it makes it so the line isn’t directly in the way, allowing the process to be significantly easier. 

In a previous school newspaper issue earlier this year, Mr. Malizia stated that the intent was to cut down on the number of people walking between the cafeterias during class time. Previously, if you wanted to eat lunch in the old cafe, you’d need to buy lunch in the new cafeteria and walk all the way to student commons. He stated that this could lead to disruptions for classes, and was overall inconvenient, so merging the cafeterias was a beneficial step to improving the school. 

Despite its hindrances, the cafe change has many wonderful benefits. Many students in the survey said they enjoyed the new cafe seating with the high tables and couches. They also loved not having to walk all the way to new caf to get their hot lunch. The area also saw improvements in the cafe setup and additional vending machines. The school took steps in the right direction when the change was made, but just a few more tweaks have the potential to change the eating experience for the better.