Starting this school year, cafeterias have been assigned to students by grade level, not by chance. While it is better than hoping for a miracle that your assigned lunchroom is the same as your friends, it still begs the question: could there be an alternative idea that would fix many problems of the current lunch setup?
Although some students are more likely to eat lunch with their friends because of this new system, other students with friendships that transcend the immediate grade level hurt more. And this concern is more prevalent than you might think, as many people have their closest friends in a different grade than their own.
When asked about the importance of friendships across different grades, junior Rocky Cytrynbaum and senior Jay Gurrala both agreed on their significance to the community. Cytrynbaum stated, “It builds the Evanston Township High School community.” Guralla added, “I think friendships across different grades build communities with people who are different from you. It helps to build connections that will last beyond your time at ETHS.” I completely agree with what Rocky and Jay had to say. It strengthens the bond between students at this school. It provides younger students with mentorship and it provides older students with leadership opportunities. The more we collaborate, the more progress we make as a school.
ETHS also supports collaboration amongst students of adjacent grades through clubs and sports. Sophomore Levi Raden commented, “While having friends in your grade is important, ETHS offers many extracurriculars like theater and sports, so it is also important to get to know people in other grades as well.” So why is it that the school consistently supports friendships across grades through extracurriculars, yet interferes with them through this new lunch system?
Some of you might think of the Hub as a possible solution, but it isn’t a certain circumvention. Oftentimes, the Hub runs out of seats very quickly and you’re rejected upon entry. Not only that, but it can be out of the way depending on the class you’re coming from and the class you have next. This is not only inconvenient but also puts you at risk of receiving a tardy, especially on Mondays with the short passing periods.
This leads me to my solution, which is to split up the four cafeterias such that two of them are for the Underclassmen and the other two are for the Upperclassmen. This is better for many reasons. First, it gives the option of having lunch with a fellow upper/underclassmen not in your grade. Second, by being able to choose your lunch room, you can plan your daily route better by selecting the lunch room that’s in accordance with your schedule the most. It also saves the Hub for its primary purpose, which is for students who are working on a group project, as opposed to a place to circumvent the challenges of the current lunch policy.
The people in your grade only make up about one-fourth of the 3,700 students at ETHS. A terrific teammate, stupendous study partner, or closest companion may be in the other three-fourths, and maybe one of the places you will bond with them the most is at your lunch table.
