Monday through Friday, students at FHC are given an average of 30 minutes a day in the cafeteria. This time is reserved mostly for socializing and eating. This time is sacred to many students and teachers alike, and it is crucial that this area is as accommodating and comfortable as possible.
The lunchroom has been neglected an update for years now, leaving it with a simple layout made of circle tables with chairs. Luckily, with help from the district, FHC is in the process of sprucing up the lunchroom. This includes new, unique tables, decorations, and so much more.
Assistant Principal John DeStefano has been a leading factor in this process, and he is responsible for achieving the funding used for all of the new furniture. He believes that lunch should be a time to relax, and, therefore, he has been in a three-year process of modernizing the lunchroom and transforming it to become fit for everyone.
“I think we can make [the cafeteria] a more modern and more comfortable place for kids—more inviting,” DeStefano said. “I don’t think all kids like to be in groups of eight or groups of 16, yet we do have kids who like that. So, we started to come up with plans on how we can modernize our cafeteria to fit more of what’s going on in today’s world and accommodate the kids that we have in our building.”
“I think we can make [the cafeteria] a more modern and more comfortable place for kids—more inviting,”
— John DeStefano
Some of the new tables range from seating two to sixteen in order to accurately accommodate the different environments that students prefer. It differs from the previous seating, where all the tables were the same size and caused tables to be split for groups or pushed together. They also include different types of seating options. There will be four to six-person booths, two to six-person high tops, and other variations of generic tables. Some of these are already being introduced into the lunchroom.
Freshman Aiden Duffner gets to experience these changes quickly after his start at the high school. Even for the few lunch periods spent with the past furniture, he is already looking forward to the new seating.
“There was a lot of space and it was okay,” Aiden said about the original seating. “It wasn’t very comfortable.”
Aiden has recently been sitting at one of the new longer tables at lunch. It fits his group perfectly and eliminates the situation of splitting up tables between groups. It is better quality and can allow him to sit with more people than previously possible.
“There’s more space to be with your friends and talk to them,” Aiden said. “It looks better, and it’s more comfortable since the seats are better.”
Unlike Aiden, senior Ava Ackerman has experienced the previous tables throughout her high school career and is anticipating the new seating. The aged seating arrangements were mediocre, but she thinks that this new seating will be beneficial.
Ava is looking forward to the different sizes featured in the new arrangements since they can accommodate better to different groups of people.
“I usually sit at the small circular tables; I haven’t sat at the bigger, regular tables,” Ava said. “I don’t have a very big friend group in third lunch, and most of my friends have different lunches, so I sit at the smaller tables.”
Some of the new tables also have attached seats, which eliminates the backs, but Ava thinks it will be a good decision. Having third lunch, she previously was part of the process of making sure all chairs were stacked and away, and most people disregarded that rule. The attachment eliminates the task of stacking the chairs and relieves a burden from the students and janitors.
Another goal of the refurbishment of the cafeteria is to brighten up the design. This has already begun with the new tables being lighter and some more colorful like the booths, but DeStefano is also planning on lightening the lunchroom with wall decorations as well. Although it is not confirmed exactly what this will include, Ava is exhilarated by the idea. She thinks that a spruce of color is a perfect way to make the lunchroom an improved space.
“I think adding color will be nice because [the cafeteria] is kind of plain,” Ava said. “I like the brick, but I feel like more color will bring up the mood a little bit.”
The 30 minutes we spend in this area are on track to become significantly more enjoyable. With DeStefano’s hard and passionate work, we can look forward to a new and improved cafeteria environment. Most of the furniture has recently arrived, and the reactions are overwhelmingly positive. The future of the area is in bright lights.
“My hope is that they like it,” DeStefano said. “Change is always different for people, and they get used to the way it was, but I think having the different available eating spots will be good.”
