Ana Pranger

It had come to the attention of teachers and deans that many students and new teachers did not know the basic rules of the cafeteria. Students with late lunch walked in, not sure of which food-covered, disgustingly dirty table to sit at. Tripping over bags as they entered the cafeteria, students and teachers alike risked physical harm. Change was necessary. Change was inevitable.

To make sure you don’t break the new, changed rule and the now more-enforced rule, make sure to always have a tray and don’t leave your bag in front of the cafeteria. Without trays, the food gets all over the table, and Mr. Tebbens said, “the lunchrooms should be neat and clean.” Though the tray rule has always been a part of the cafeteria guidelines, many new students (upper and lower classmen) and teachers were not aware of the rule. With a dirty, messy lunchroom becoming the norm, the teachers and deans decided that the rule needed to be enforced more. Even though it’s not that far of a move, many students thought the change of backpack location was inconvenient. Unfortunately, leaving the backpacks in front of the cafeteria doors breaks fire code. When the fire marshal went through the school, checking to make sure Latin passed all of the tests, the backpacks blocked a “direct walkway” which was “not okay,” according to Mr. Tebbens. Though these changes were necessary, some students were still bothered by the extremity of the rules, with one student saying, “I only had one plate of pizza and [a teacher] made me get a tray… I understand if you have a ton of food, but with hardly any food, does it matter?” Will one piece of pizza really spill all over the table, causing a mess? Some people may manage to make a mess out of a pizza, but likely not everyone. Still, we need to think of the positives coming from these changes. Though there may be students against the changes in rules and policies, everyone is enjoying the clear path to the cafeteria and the clean tables.  ]]>