This year, the administration at VHHS made changes to the Upper Commons (UC), limiting students to what food they are allowed to bring as of the 2024-2025 school year. While food from home is allowed, any food brought in from the cafeteria is prohibited. Several upperclassmen expressed frustration over these rules, especially the Class of 2025 who are able to leave campus during lunch for the first time since the policy shift in their freshman year.
“Personally, I really dislike the new rules,” Livy Tran said (12). “I sit with a group of friends at lunch but we’re always divided because when someone’s hungry they need to go downstairs, eat alone, and then come back to hang out.”
According to the rules, students are allowed to have a light snack at most, and students reported that bringing food from home is inconsistently permitted by the UC monitors.
“One day it was fine [to eat food from home] the next I’m being warned that I’ll see my dean.”Eddie Fitzgerald (12) said. “My opinion is that if there are going to be rules about food, it doesn’t really matter if it’s from home or not. Food is food. It makes the same mess whether it’s brought in a lunchbox or bought in the cafeteria or somewhere else.”
Some students reported feeling as if the situation was unfair, and that several of the issues regarding messiness that led to the creation of the new rules were due to last year’s class.
“My friends and I were looking forward to being able to eat our lunch there, but obviously [we] can’t do that anymore,” Tran said. “If this is really about the messes left over, then it kinda feels like we’re being punished for the mistakes of last year’s upperclassmen and I don’t think that’s fair.”
What this means for upperclassmen is that they will need to find other places to eat outside of the UC, which in the past, was a place for upperclassmen to sit away from the cafeteria and interact with their peers during their lunch hour.
Todd Williams, head of school security, spoke on the issue offering his perspective on the UC rules.
“These aren’t really new rules, [we are] just going back to the way [the UC] was designed,” Williams said.
Williams said the original purpose of the UC when it was first designed in 2017, was to be a study hall area for upperclassmen. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, school administration was tasked with finding ways to space students out during lunch.
“We had tables in the foyer, in the gymnastics gym, we opened up the campus, trying to alleviate the number of students that were in the building for lunch, and that happened in the UC as well. Last year, we tried to revert back, slowly, but it’s a process,”Williams said.
Williams also addressed the food from home vs. cafeteria dilemma, and how it affects the overall presentation of our school.
“Students can have a light snack or a sandwich from home, we just don’t want greasier foods and sauces like pizza or foods like that being brought up there,” Williams said.
Additionally, he mentioned some of the negative effects from last year that caused these rules to be put into place.
“Last year some of the problems we experienced were stains in the carpet, things on the walls, and we had garbage left over. This is a really nice school, so we try to do a good job of making it nice and presentable,” Williams said.
Williams said the upper commons receive a lot of foot traffic as well. People heading into the foyer or the studio theater typically use the UC as a means to get around, and school events such as school board meetings are held in the LMC which people get to by passing through the UC.
“So this year we’re trying to keep that place a nice looking area. It’s not intended to be an extension of the lunchroom,” Williams said.
Some students have expressed understanding the reasons for the change, while still being frustrated due to the new rules.
“I get where they’re coming from,” Daniel Berke (12), who regularly sits in the UC with a group of friends, said. “Presentation is important. I can respect that.”
In addition, Berke offered a different approach to combating the issue of garbage in the UC, proposing an idea similar to what is done in the cafeteria. If any messes are left over, teachers can take a picture of the table, check security footage, and eventually figure out who sits at that table and address them personally.
“If cleanliness is a priority, why not have a zero tolerance policy like the cafeteria? I don’t think it’s fair that the people who can’t pick up after themselves ruin the UC experience for the rest of us,” Berke said.
Berke also expressed his beliefs regarding the benefits of being in the UC.
“The UC is nice because [upperclassmen] all have a place to sit together away from the cafeteria. We can, or at least used to, be able to eat lunch and study, which is a hundred times better without the commotion of the cafeteria,” Berke said.
Additionally, Berke touched on how the rule implications feel when coupled with other changes in the school, such as the repurposing of the ARC. According to Berke, the UC was the only other spot where upperclassmen could sit together to eat, study, and hang out in a quieter environment.”
“It’s just kinda sad because it feels counter intuitive that the administration is trying to use the ARC for solely tutoring and then get rid of eating in the only other place we had with that similar vibe,” Berke said.