Hallways, they connect our entrances to our exits, our locker rooms to our gyms, and ‌our students to our classrooms. But when you can’t tell the difference between a hallway and a 4-lane intersection on a crowded street, then issues arise. Transitioning between classes through the hallways in Hillcrest High School is notoriously bad, and one passing period is all it would take to agree with that opinion. “Before, they were manageable, but over the past few years they’ve gotten progressively worse.” says Hillcrest senior, Jeremiah Hall. As a fellow student, I could also agree with this. Traversing these hallways is like a mouse in a maze. You’re always weaving through a crowd of people, trying to find the quickest route from class to class, just hoping that you don’t end up stuck behind someone taking their sweet time walking. 

While it’s become painfully clear that the school is really teetering on the edge of its maximum occupancy and plans to expand the building are nowhere in sight, who or what else is there to blame for this situation. The students? Staff? Administration? I and a large majority of the student body believe it’s all three. 

The students foremost are the main occupants of these hallways, meaning ‌they control the flow of walking routes. When students stand in groups of 3 or 4, side by side, it’s like a moving roadblock, and you can’t maneuver around it since there’s always people walking towards you from the opposite direction. Not to mention those who just stand and talk in a group as if they don’t have each other’s phone numbers or that one person who sees their friend walking on the other side and just spontaneously turns around and catches some people off guard. 

The staff and security have a non-existent amount of control over what the students are doing in the hallway and how to actually get them to their classes. Since the first day of school, I take the same path through the school to get to each class and I can say without a doubt that there’s always someone obstructing the path. “It’s always the same people, in the same group, standing there like they don’t have anywhere to go.” senior Marcus Toles said. To be fair, it’s true. For the first four minutes of the passing period, they’re practically allowed to just stand there and talk like it’s no one’s business, but as soon as the last minute comes then the adults suddenly care about clearing the traffic.

Last but definitely not least, we have our beloved administration. I’ve luckily spent at least a handful of passing periods in each of the four schools within our district. That none of the hallway congestion they have even compared to what we experience is laughable. At the other schools, it’s always obvious what direction everyone is walking in and what routes you need to take to get there. Not to mention that you would need to go out of your way to even contact someone else. Surely it’s about time that the higher-ups opened their eyes a little wider and see that we’re the odd ones out.

Fortunately, there have been rumors of talks within the Principal’s Cabinet about hypothetical solutions to these irritating and senseless problems. Although it might be too late for us seniors to experience a change, hopefully the younger grades will walk in a more organized, efficient, and sensible hallway.