It’s 8:09 in the morning. The warning bell just rang. I’m stuck behind a wall of freshmen walking slower than a turtle. To my right someone drops their Stanley and to my left there’s a clump of girls taking up half the hallway. I’ll never make it to class on time.
Lakeside Hallways are a disaster. Intersections are crowded, stairwells are cramped, and don’t even get me started on trying to get to class on time. Students will stop in their tracks and block an entire row of people trying to get to class just to talk to their friends. Could this conversation not have been had while walking? The mix of people swarming a classroom door trying to get in and/or out is obnoxious and chaotic. The worst part is you’re automatically blamed for being late even when teachers know the hallway is a mess.
This is why I think we should implement a traffic light system. At each intersection there should be a stop light with the obvious colors red, yellow, and green. There can even be a sign explaining what to do at each color. Red: Stop clogging the hallway, Yellow: Begin to slow down, and Green: Go! (Preferably with purpose). We could even bring back hall monitors. While teachers are required to stand outside of their classrooms during passing we could give them actual jobs. They could carry tiny stop signs, walkie talkies, and citations for hallway crimes. A citation would be like a ticket except they don’t have to pay any real money, but Lakeside bucks. If you keep your Lakeside bucks you can save up to buy something from the Viking store. Clogging the hallway can result in you having to pay one Lakeside dollar to whatever teacher catches you! Not only would hallways be more organized but there would also be less tardies. Of course, with that, though, passing periods may have to be extended no longer than seven minutes. It would take some time to get used to, but I think after a while students and staff would adjust accordingly.
Along with the light system I think there should be a rule about which side of the hallway students should walk on. Similar to driving we should be expected to walk on the right side of the hall to avoid congestion and clutter. If you are caught walking on the wrong side of the hall a citation will be written.
We spend so much time in these hallways as is, we might as well find a way to make them more manageable.
