Since elementary school, we’ve been told to “walk in a single file line” or “make sure to stay to the right side of the hallway,” so why are high schoolers still struggling with such a simple task?

When walking in the hallways, it is clearly a mess half of the time. Students are standing around, blocking paths, walking slowly, and not paying attention.

Obviously, during passing periods, you aren’t going to walk in a single file line, and that would be very weird. However, there are definitely things that could change as students are moving between classes.

For starters, teachers often say that passing periods are not a time to socialize; however, this viewpoint is flawed. If everyone is making it to class on time and not just standing in the hallway in everyone’s way, then walking and talking together is fine. However, students shouldn’t be in a long line across the hallway as they walk with their friends. It takes up too much space, and nobody can get around you. If you notice you’re hitting people on the left side of the hallway constantly and people keep trying to go around you, you should probably get the hint. Worse, most of these groups are super slow. Nobody likes getting behind a slow walker. Don’t run to class, but, please pick up the pace.

When blocking the hallways during passing periods, it can cause not only annoyance with other students and teachers, but it also can be a hazardous issue. If something was to happen, for example, a fire, hallway jams can be an issue. Although students probably don’t walk around the school thinking about that, it is something that needs to be talked about more often for the safety of the students.

As previously mentioned, please don’t walk like you’ve got all the time in the world. Not only do we have limited time to get to class, but it is also extremely annoying. With about six minutes to get to class, it seems very doable with the size of our school and capacity. However, once someone gets stuck behind a crowd of people walking slowly, this can cause issues with tardies. Once hitting a certain amount of tardies, this can cause repercussions that might not even be the student’s fault. Also if I’m being honest, I’m really not trying to step on the back of shoes nor am I trying to get the back of my shoes stepped on. However, this is not The Breakfast Club, so let’s not run either.

Although this is usually said by teachers, I don’t disagree at all that we should be walking at a normal pace in the hallway. I don’t know one person trying to get knocked down or shoved when trying to get to class. Again, this is another safety issue. Students should be aware of not only themselves but also the people around them, staff and students.

Now, this is probably the worst thing I see when in the hallways. I am speaking for almost everybody when I say this. Please, and I mean please, calm down on the PDA. Nobody wants to see that. A hand holding here and there is fine, but if someone is standing in the middle of the hallway all over their significant other it gets to be too much. Just wait a few hours until school lets out. I promise it’s not the end of the world. I see many students staring at other people in the hallway or whispering to their friends about that one couple they see that needs to calm down. It makes many people uncomfortable and overall is just very weird for a school setting.

The hallways are clearly not as good as they could be. I hear students mention how annoyed they are about it all throughout the day, so why not try to fix it? Although this may seem childish and clique, if a majority of students find it a problem it should be addressed and fixed. Some things that everybody could acknowledge as they walk through the halls are:

1. Keep hallways neat and clean.

2. Walk to the right side of the hallway.

3. Stay at a considerable pace as you walk from class to class.

4. Follow directions if given by staff.

5. Respect others around you.

6. Keep physical contact with others to a minimum.