Joyelle Van Eron What causes the intimidatingly long lines in the lunchroom? Well, put a herd of hungry teenagers in a relatively small area and give them thirty-five minutes to eat lunch; I guarantee that will never end well. But, I’m not writing this just to poke fun. The reasons behind the long lines are actually more complicated than many students think. During an interview with Hand Cut Foods, Food Service Director Mr. Arambulo explained that there are many factors that cause the unbearable traffic in the cafeteria, including limited space, an increased number of students, varying lunch schedules, and the layout of the cafeteria itself. It’s fair to say that change will take time, especially considering that there are several components involved. One aspect of the layout the Mr. Arambulo mentioned in particular is the bottleneck around the salad bar. So, everyone, if there’s been something that you couldn’t quite put your finger on in the cafeteria that’s been bugging you, we may have just found the answer. A new, maze-like system was established in the cafeteria, involving narrow lines and black dividers. I spoke with Mr. Tebbens, one of the teachers who helped set it up, who told me that the purpose was to create a one-directional flow in the cafeteria. The reason for the crazy traffic jams, he claims, is that everyone is moving in different directions, which makes it difficult to get through the lines efficiently. While there are plenty of faculty and staff working to improve the flow of people in the cafeteria, we can’t let everything be up to their efforts. Try to keep the lines straight (and don’t be that obnoxious person that is constantly hitting people with their backpacks). Leave your backpack in your locker or just put it on the rack because we all have a friend like this, and they’re the most dangerous of them all…And while you’re at it, leave some school stuff in your locker as well, before you destroy your back and accidentally attack other people with your 80 pound bag. Despite backpack dangers, everyone knows that the long lunch lines are not a myth. It’s a serious problem, especially when people skip lunch. I’m the kind of person who gets extremely grumpy when I don’t eat and that definitely affects how I act around my friends and how I perform in class. Please be healthy and eat because it fuels us to make good choices and be ready to take on any challenge!]]>