Over the years, a growing problem at Ludlowe has been students getting in trouble for being in places in the building that they shouldn’t be during their free periods or during lunch waves. 

Due to Covid cases rising, more students have been veering away from sitting in the cafeteria, which has resulted in large groups of students sitting in hallways and bathrooms throughout the day. Many students and teachers believe this is a problem, resulting from the lack of places students can go during their free time. 

In an interview, freshman Fallon Leibrock stated, “I think there should be more places for students to go during lunch or frees because being in more public places can be too much for some people and can cause a lot of stress for them, especially if there is a lot of people or it is noisy.” With more students who deal with anxiety and stress at Ludlowe, the cafeteria and library may be triggering due to the amount of people and noise. With nowhere else to go, these students’ only other places to go end up being the halls or bathrooms.

In an interview with senior Jaz Vega, she was asked if she thought this was a problem, she said, “Yes, I think this is a problem because not having enough places to go results in people sitting in halls or bathrooms and getting in trouble, when in reality they have nowhere to go.” 

Having more rooms and less crowded, quiet places to go can leave a positive impact on students, Vega said. “I believe having more places to go would have a positive impact here because it would create a safe space for kids to go if they don’t feel comfortable in the café or library due to anxiety or other reasons, so it would help them find a better place that suits them other than bathrooms and hallways.”

There isn’t one solution for this problem, but many students agree if they had other places to go they wouldn’t resort to going to bathrooms or hallways during free time. Having available rooms when teachers have free periods and can supervise or if counselors can have open rooms available during lunch hours where students can go and feel more comfortable could be very beneficial.