Students not attending teachers’ office hours must report to the field house instead of the cafeteria starting this semester. 

John Walsh, principal, cited safety and security issues as one reason for this transition. 

“Everybody was all over the school [last semester]. I’m very concerned about the safety and security of the school,” Walsh said. “We tried for a full semester to get kids to stay in one place, and they wouldn’t stay in one place.”

Besides trying to get students to stop wandering the halls, the change was also made in an attempt to support more students with office hours. 

“We have a lot of kids who are supposed to be visiting their teachers during office hours and they are not going to visit their teacher,” Walsh said. “By having everybody in the field house, my goal is to pull students out of the field house who need support from their teachers, [and] make them go get support.” 

Several other changes were made as a result of the transition into the field house. Jazzman’s was moved into the field house concession zone with a condensed menu, locker rooms for athletes now open at 3:30p.m. instead of 3:43p.m., and Door 6 is only open from 3:12-3:22p.m. instead of all of office hours like last semester. 

Students have some complaints about these changes. Naomi Libman, senior, says the field house is overcrowded. 

“I feel like it’s a little too crowded up [there],” Libman said. “Walking up [to the field house] is like a stampede.”

Also, compared to spaces like the cafeteria and Studio C, the field house has limited seating for those who want to do homework. 

“I feel like if they added a little section of the gym just for people to do their homework during office hours that would be ideal,” Eliza Sklut, junior said. 

The Hub is still open to about 60 students looking for a more studious space, and this number may expand in the coming weeks according to Walsh. The Math Science Technology Center (MST) is also an option for students to report to during office hours. Overall, Walsh says the transition is going pretty smoothly. 

“Nobody likes to change, whether you are five years old or 60 years old,” Walsh said. “So for the most part, I think kids are handling it really well.”